Israel shuts down Al Jazeera’s operations, raids Jerusalem office
Say what you will about Qatar, which is where Al Jazeera is based, but they're a very legitimate news organization that strives to get it right. Consistently strong journalism. The U.S. singled them out too following 9/11 but that's because they were showing the full story of U.S. military actions.
For Israel to do this should wake some people up. It's not the people of Israel to blame. It's an extremist leader and government at fault.
Reuters - JERUSALEM — Israel’s government moved Sunday to shut down the Al Jazeera Media Network’s operations in Israel, clamping down on one of the few international broadcasters providing largely uninterrupted coverage of the Gaza war.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the decision followed a unanimous vote by Israel’s war cabinet, posting on X that “the incitement channel Al Jazeera will be closed in Israel.” In a separate statement, he accused Al Jazeera correspondents of having “harmed the security of Israel” and said “the time has come to eject Hamas’s mouthpiece from our country.”
Israel’s actions placed it in the company of several autocratic countries in the region that have tried to stifle the network — which has attracted praise and controversy since its was founded nearly 30 years ago and helped reshape the media landscape in the Arab world.
“This is a dark day for the media,” the board of Israel’s Foreign Press Association said in a statement. “This is a dark day for democracy.”
For Israel to do this should wake some people up. It's not the people of Israel to blame. It's an extremist leader and government at fault.
Reuters - JERUSALEM — Israel’s government moved Sunday to shut down the Al Jazeera Media Network’s operations in Israel, clamping down on one of the few international broadcasters providing largely uninterrupted coverage of the Gaza war.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the decision followed a unanimous vote by Israel’s war cabinet, posting on X that “the incitement channel Al Jazeera will be closed in Israel.” In a separate statement, he accused Al Jazeera correspondents of having “harmed the security of Israel” and said “the time has come to eject Hamas’s mouthpiece from our country.”
Israel’s actions placed it in the company of several autocratic countries in the region that have tried to stifle the network — which has attracted praise and controversy since its was founded nearly 30 years ago and helped reshape the media landscape in the Arab world.
“This is a dark day for the media,” the board of Israel’s Foreign Press Association said in a statement. “This is a dark day for democracy.”
