Israel said Sunday it plans to ban Qatar’s flagship al-Jazeera news network from operating in the country over allegations it incites violence, joining Arab nations that have shut down the broadcaster amid a separate political dispute, reports the Associated Press.
Communications Minister Ayoob Kara said he plans to revoke the press credentials of al-Jazeera journalists, effectively preventing them from working in Israel.
Kara said he has asked cable and satellite networks to block al-Jazeera transmissions and is seeking legislation to ban them altogether.
The minister, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party, gave no timetable for such measures.
Doha-based al-Jazeera did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Its Arab and English channels reported the news.
Walid al-Omari, the broadcaster’s bureau chief in Jerusalem, said on air that his office has not been informed by Israeli officials of any possible measures the government might take.
Al-Jazeera, a pan-Arab satellite network funded by the Qatari government, already has been targeted by Arab nations now isolating Qatar as part of a months-long political dispute over Doha’s politics and alleged support for extremists.
Jordan and Saudi Arabia have recently closed al-Jazeera’s local offices, while the channel and its affiliate sites have been blocked in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain.
“Lately, almost all countries in our region determined that al-Jazeera supports terrorism, supports religious radicalisation,” Kara said. “And when we see that all these countries have determined as fact that al-Jazeera is a tool of the Islamic State, Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran, and we are the only one who have not determined that then something delusional is happening here.”
American viewers became familiar with al-Jazeera after the attacks of September 11, 2001, when its golden-hued Arabic logo became synonymous with video messages by al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. That sparked frequent complaints by then-President George W Bush’s administration. The station defended its policy, saying the messages were newsworthy.
Al-Jazeera was the first Arab satellite news channel to offer a range of views outside of heavily censored state media across the region and extensively covered the 2011 Arab Spring. It also was the first Arab-owned news outlet to host Israeli officials and commentators, which some analysts note coincided with Qatar’s ties with Israel at the time.
Thursday, April 25, 2024
