Al Jazeera office raided as Israel takes channel off air
Journalistic gear was observed being removed from the Ambassador Hotel, which serves as the location of Al Jazeera's Jerusalem bureau.
The Israeli government has taken action to close down the activities of Al Jazeera television network within the country, accusing it of being a tool for Hamas.
The closure of Gaza Strip was approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while the war is still ongoing.
On Sunday, the office of the Qatari broadcaster at the Ambassador hotel in Jerusalem was searched by the police.
Al Jazeera denied allegations that it posed a risk to the safety of Israel and deemed them as an unsafe and absurd falsehood.
The network declared that it holds the authority to take "all necessary legal measures."
During the raid, Shlomo Karhi, who is the Minister of Communications in Israel, mentioned that equipment was confiscated.
The minister shared a video on X where law enforcement officers and ministry inspectors were seen entering a hotel room.
The BBC crew went to the location, but the police stopped them from recording or entering the hotel.
As per the latest report from Reuters news agency, Yes - the Israeli satellite service - has put out a message which stated that the transmission of Al Jazeera channel has been halted in Israel on account of a government directive.
The closure is only partially effective since the channel remains available through Facebook in Israel.
Several human rights and media organizations have received backlash on the decision to shut down Al Jazeera in Israel.
ACRI has requested the Supreme Court in Israel to revoke the ban by issuing an interim order, as stated by the association.
According to the group, the accusations that the broadcaster is an instrument of Hamas propaganda are baseless. They argue that the ban imposed on Sunday is not related to security issues but rather reflects a political goal to silence those voices that are critical and to specifically target Arab media.
The FPA has requested that the Israeli government reconsider its ruling, as closing down Al Jazeera within the country raises alarm bells for advocates of press freedom everywhere.
According to a statement from FPA, Israel has now become a member of a disreputable club of autocratic governments who have prohibited the broadcasting network. The statement also cautioned that Mr. Netanyahu may decide to target other international media organizations that he believes are working against the government's interests.
Carlos Martinez de la Serna, the Program Director of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), has expressed worries that need to be taken seriously. He stated that the Israeli cabinet needs to permit Al Jazeera along with other global media organizations to function without any hindrance in Israel, particularly during times of war.
The United Nations office that focuses on human rights has urged the Israeli government to lift the prohibition. They shared on X that it is important to have a media that is both independent and unrestricted, so that transparency and accountability may be upheld. This is especially crucial since there are already significant limitations placed on reporting from Gaza.
The picture was obtained from Getty Images
The recent closure of Israel's operations in Israel has been condemned by Al Jazeera, a media organization based in Qatar (as shown in the attached picture).
People from other countries who work in journalism are not allowed to go to Gaza. The only people who have been reporting from there are the workers of Al Jazeera.
Israel's authorities have been claiming for a prolonged period that the network portrays a prejudiced attitude towards Israel.
Their disapproval of the media outlet has increased after the Hamas attacks that took place on October 7th in southern Israel. The attack sadly led to the demise of around 1,200 individuals, with over 250 people being held captive. Currently, there are still 128 hostages who are missing, and it's assumed that at least 34 of them have passed away.
According to the health ministry in charge of Hamas, the military campaign that Israel carried out in Gaza resulted in the loss of 34,683 lives and left 78,018 people injured.
In the previous month, a regulation was approved by the parliament of Israel that allows the government to shut down international broadcasters temporarily if they pose a danger to the security of the country during the conflict with Hamas.
Al Jazeera, which is located in Qatar, is facilitating negotiations between Israel and Hamas regarding the conflict that has lasted for nearly seven months.
Earlier talks facilitated by Qatar resulted in a momentary cessation of hostilities and the liberation of 105 Israeli captives in November.
Al Jazeera has alleged that Israel intentionally focuses on its employees.
Reporters like Hamza al-Dahdouh, who is the son of Wael al-Dahdouh, the bureau chief of Al Jazeera in Gaza, have lost their lives due to Israeli strikes. However, Israel refutes the allegations of specifically aiming at journalists.
Despite Israel's attempts to hide its wrongdoing by imprisoning and murdering journalists, we are still committed to fulfilling our obligation to report the truth, the network declared in their statement regarding the recent ban.
