Israeli government orders closure of Al Yazera station

Israeli authorities in Jerusalem raided on Sunday a hotel room used by the Al Jazeera channel as its office, an Israeli official and a source of the Al Jazeera news agency told Reuters.

Israel ordered Sunday the closure of local offices of the Alzeera news satellite network, which is owned by Qatar. Record pictures distributed on the internet showed civil-suit employees disposing camera equipment in a hotel room, which the Al Jazeera network source said was in the eastern part of Jerusalem.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet decision suspends the network's activities as long as the war in Gaza continues, saying it posed a threat to national security.

Al Jazeera said the move was a <x0 criminal action” and that the charge that the network threatened Israeli security was a dangerous and ridiculous “that jeopardises the lives of its journalists. The network pledged to follow all legal ways available through international legal institutions.

The network has criticised the Israeli military operation in Gaza, from which it has reported since the beginning of the war. “Kanali promoter, Al Jazeera, will close in Israel”, Prime Minister Netanyahu wrote after the cabinet's unanimous vote.

A government statement says the Minister of Communication signed orders to “act immediately”. At least one lawmaker, who supported the closure, said Al Jazeera could still try to block the verdict through the court.

The decision, said in the statement, includes closing the offices of the Alzeera network in Israel, confiscating transmission equipment, cutting off the channel from cable and satellite companies, and blocking its cyber access to the country. The Al Jazeera network operations in Gaza are not mentioned in the statement.

cable and satellite companies suspended the transmissions of the Al Jazeera network following the government's decision. Qatar's government has not commented.

Last month, the network complained about a series of systematic attacks from Israel to silence the Al Jazeera” channel. The network said Israel had deliberately killed some of its journalists, among them Samer Abu Daqqa and Hamza AlDahdoh in Gaza. Israel has said it does not target journalists. Qatar founded the Al Jazeera network in 1996.

“Al Jazeera strongly condemns and condemns this criminal act that violates human rights and the fundamental right to access to information”, a network statement said. “Al Jazeera confirms her right to continue sharing news and information on her global audience”.

The UN Human Rights Office also criticised the closure of the network.

The cabinet's decision to close the Al Jazeera station in Israel is unfortunate”, said its statement posted on the X network. “A free and independent media is essential to guarantee transparency and accountability, especially now, given strict restrictions on Gaza reporting. Freedom of expression is a major right to human rights. We call on the government to cancel the” decision.

The Israeli Parliament ratified a law last month allowing temporary closure in Israel of foreign broadcasters considered a threat to national security. / VOA