Netanyahu's Cabinet votes to close Al Jazeera offices in Israel after rising tensions

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Sunday that his authorities has voted unanimously to close down the native workplaces of Qatar-owned broadcaster Al Jazeera, escalating Israel’s long-running feud with the channel at a time when cease-fire negotiations with Hamas — mediated by Qatar — are gaining steam.

Netanyahu introduced the choice on X, previously Twitter, however particulars on the implications of the step on the channel, when it will go into impact or whether or not the measure was everlasting or short-term weren’t instantly clear.

“My government decided unanimously: the incitement channel Al Jazeera will close in Israel,” Netanyahu posted on X. Al Jazeera has vehemently denied that it incites towards Israel.

There was no quick remark from the channel headquarters within the Qatari capital of Doha. But a number of Al Jazeera correspondents went on air to offer their understanding on how the choice would have an effect on the channel.

An Al Jazeera correspondent on its Arabic service stated the order would have an effect on the broadcaster’s operations in Israel and in east Jerusalem, the place it has been doing dwell photographs for months because the Oct. 7 assault that sparked the conflict in Gaza.

It wouldn’t have an effect on Al Jazeera’s operations within the Palestinian territories, the correspondent stated.

Another correspondent, on Al Jazeera’s English channel, stated the order barred the channel from “holding offices or operating them” in Israel. He stated the broadcaster’s web sites could be blocked, although they had been nonetheless accessible by Sunday afternoon in Jerusalem.

Israeli media stated the vote permits Israel to dam the channel from working within the nation for 45 days, in line with the choice. Israel’s Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi stated in a video posted to X that the channel’s “equipment will be confiscated.”

The determination threatens to intensify tensions with Qatar at a time when the Doha authorities is taking part in a key function in mediation efforts to halt the conflict in Gaza, together with Egypt and the United States.

Qatar has had strained ties with Netanyahu, particularly since he made feedback suggesting that Qatar will not be exerting sufficient strain on Hamas to immediate it to relent in its phrases for a truce deal. Qatar hosts Hamas leaders in exile.

The sides look like near hanging a deal, however a number of earlier rounds of talks have ended with no settlement.

Israel has lengthy had a rocky relationship with Al Jazeera, accusing it of bias. Relations took a significant downturn practically two years in the past when Al Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh was killed throughout an Israeli army raid within the occupied West Bank.

Those relations additional deteriorated following the outbreak of Israel’s conflict towards Hamas on Oct. 7, when the militant group carried out a cross-border assault in southern Israel that killed 1,200 individuals and took 250 others hostage.

In December, an Israeli strike killed an Al Jazeera cameraman as he reported on the conflict in southern Gaza. The channel’s bureau chief in Gaza, Wael Dahdouh, was injured in the identical assault.

Al Jazeera is without doubt one of the few worldwide media retailers to stay in Gaza all through the conflict, broadcasting bloody scenes of airstrikes and overcrowded hospitals and accusing Israel of massacres. Israel accuses Al Jazeera of collaborating with Hamas.

Al Jazeera, which is funded by Qatar’s authorities, didn’t instantly reply to a request from The Associated Press for remark.

While Al Jazeera’s English operation typically resembles the programming discovered on different main broadcast networks, its Arabic arm typically publishes verbatim video statements from Hamas and different militant teams within the area. It equally got here underneath harsh U.S. criticism throughout America’s occupation of Iraq after its 2003 invasion toppled director Saddam Hussein.

Al Jazeera has been closed or blocked by different Mideast governments. Those embrace Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain throughout a yearslong boycott of Doha by the international locations amid a yearslong political dispute that led to 2021.

Sunday’s growth instantly recalled Egypt’s shutdown of Al Jazeera after the nation’s 2013 army takeover following mass protests towards President Mohammed Morsi, a member of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood group. The channel lined lots of the Brotherhood’s protests dwell, to the anger of Egypt’s army authorities. At the time, Egyptian safety forces raided a luxurious resort the channel operated out of, arresting its correspondents.

Australian Peter Greste, Egyptian-Canadian Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed obtained 10-year jail sentences, however had been later launched in 2015 amid widespread worldwide criticism.

Egypt considers the Brotherhood a terrorist group and accused each Qatar and Al Jazeera of supporting it.