(EDITOR’S NOTE: Image shows death.) Wael Al-Dahdouh, chief of Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau, center, comforts relatives at the funeral of his son, Al Jazeera journalist Hamza Dahdouh, killed in an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, southern Gaza. on Sunday, January 7, 2024. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is focused on accelerating humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians in Gaza and garnering support for Gaza’s post-conflict governance. Photographer: Ahmad Salem/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Ahmad Salem | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that his government has voted unanimously to close the local offices of Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera.
Netanyahu announced the decision on X, formerly Twitter, but details on the implications of the move on the canal, when it would take effect and whether the measure was permanent or temporary were not immediately clear.
There was no immediate comment from the channel’s headquarters in Doha, Qatar. An Al Jazeera correspondent on its Arabic service said the order would affect the broadcaster’s operations in Israel and in east Jerusalem, where it has been recording live for months since the October 7 attack that sparked the war in Gaza.
It would not affect Al Jazeera’s operations in the Palestinian territories, the correspondent said.
Israeli media said the vote allows Israel to block the channel from operating in the country for 45 days, the decision said.
“My government has unanimously decided: the incendiary channel Al Jazeera will close in Israel,” Netanyahu wrote on X. Al Jazeera vehemently denied that it was inciting against Israel.
The decision escalated Israel’s long-running feud against Al Jazeera. It also threatened 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 end the war in Gaza.
Israel has long had a rocky relationship with Al Jazeera and accuses the company of bias.
Al Jazeera is one of the few international media outlets that remained in Gaza during the war. They broadcast bloody images of air raids and overcrowded hospitals and accuse Israel of 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 operations often resemble the programming of other major broadcast networks, its Arab branch often publishes verbatim video statements from Hamas and other militant groups in the region. Similarly, it came under heavy US criticism during the US occupation of Iraq, after the 2003 invasion toppled director Saddam Hussein.
It remains unclear how such an order would be enforced by Israel.
