Israel bans Al Jazeera: A look at the history of its feud, the network’s coverage of Gaza & accusations

Israel bans Al Jazeera: The Benjamin Netanyahu-led Israeli war cabinet has unanimously voted to shut down Al Jazeera in Israel. The Hindu explores the reasons for the ban and the network’s past coverage in Gaza.

Over 212 days have passed since Israel first attacked Gaza, killing over 34,000 Palestinians, including 14,000 children and 140 journalists, Qatar-based satellite news network Al Jazeera reported, titling its segment ‘Israel War on Gaza.’ Clamping down on the network, which has reported live from Gaza on the war since Hamas first attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, the Benjamin Netanyahu-led Israeli war cabinet unanimously voted to shut down the channel in Israel on May 5 – World Press Freedom Day.

Posting on X, Mr, Netanyahu wrote: “The government headed by me unanimously decided: the incitement channel Al Jazeera will be closed in Israel.” Issuing a video statement, Mr. Netanyahu accused Al Jazeera of having “harmed the security of Israel” and that the time had come “to eject Hamas’ mouthpiece from the country.”

In response, Al Jazeera issued a statement, terming it a “criminal” move, “violating human rights and basic right to access of information.” Accusing Israel of concealing its actions in the Gaza strip by suppressing free press, Al Jazeera vowed to pursue all available legal channels to protect its rights and its journalists, and the public’s right to information.

Additionally, the order also withdraws all accreditation granted to Al Jazeera’s crew, bans media service providers from transmitting the broadcast channel and blocks its websites. The order allows Israel to block the channel for 45 days – the first such ban for a foreign news outlet in Israel. However, the ban is only on the channel’s website and TV channel. Its Facebook channel is still active in Israel, the BBC reported.

Following the closure, police raided the broadcaster’s office at the Ambassador hotel in Jerusalem, per a BBC report. In the raid, the police confiscated broadcast equipment from the media organisation’s office. BBC was prohibited from filming the raid or going inside the hotel by the police.

On April 1, 2024, the Israeli parliament (Knesset) passed a law to temporarily ban foreign news outlets perceived as a ‘security threat.’ The law, which was passed by a 71-10 majority, gives the Israeli Prime Minister and communications minister powers to order the closure of foreign networks in Israel and confiscate their equipment if they are believed to “harm state security.”

The motivation of the move was made clearer when Mr. Netanyahu posted on X, “Al Jazeera harmed Israel’s security, actively participated in the October 7 massacre, and incited against Israeli soldiers. I intend to act immediately in accordance with the new law to stop the channel’s activity.”