FILE – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a press conference at the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, Israel on October 28, 2023.
Abir Sultan/AP
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Abir Sultan/AP
FILE – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a press conference at the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, Israel on October 28, 2023.
Abir Sultan/AP
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that his government voted unanimously to close the local offices of Qatari-owned television station Al Jazeera.
Netanyahu announced the decision on X, formerly Twitter, but details on the impact of the move on the channel, when it will take effect or whether the measure will be permanent or temporary are still up in the air. immediately clear.
There was no immediate comment from the channel’s headquarters in Doha, Qatar. An Al Jazeera reporter on the station’s Arabic service said the order would affect the broadcaster’s operations in Israel and in east Jerusalem, where it has been filming live for months. since the October 7 attack that sparked the war in Gaza.
This reporter said it will not affect Al Jazeera’s operations in the Palestinian territories.
Israeli media said the vote allowed Israel to block the channel from operating in the country for 45 days, according to the decision.
“My government has decided unanimously: the inflammatory channel Al Jazeera will be closed in Israel,” Netanyahu posted on X. Al Jazeera vehemently denies that the channel incites against Israel.
The decision escalated Israel’s longstanding feud with Al Jazeera. It also threatens to increase tensions with Qatar, which owns the channel, at a time when the Doha government is playing a key role in mediation efforts to avert war in Gaza.
Israel has long had a rocky relationship with Al Jazeera, accused of bias against it.
Al Jazeera was one of the few international media outlets to remain in Gaza throughout the war, broadcasting scenes of bloody airstrikes and overwhelmed hospitals as well as accusing Israel of carrying out massacres. Israel accuses Al Jazeera of collaborating with Hamas.
Al Jazeera, the Doha-based broadcaster funded by the Qatari government, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
While Al Jazeera’s English-language operations often resemble programming found on other major broadcast networks, its Arab affiliate often publishes verbatim video statements from Hamas and other militant groups in area. Likewise, it was also harshly criticized by the US during the US occupation of Iraq following the country’s 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
It remains unclear how Israel would enforce such an order.
