Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said operations of the Qatar-based Al Jazeera news network will cease in the country.
Netanyahu said in a post on X that “the government led by me has unanimously decided: the Al Jazeera incitement channel will be closed in Israel.”
The head of the vehicle in Israel and the Palestinian territories, Walid Omary, claimed that the Israeli government's decision is “dangerous” and motivated more by political than professional reasons.
According to Omary, Al Jazeera's legal team is preparing a response, in a possible legal appeal against the decision.
The decision comes a month after Netanyahu promised to close the television channel in the country, following the approval of a law that allows the government to ban foreign networks that are considered a threat to national security.
Netanyahu said on X in early April that he intended to “immediately act in accordance with the new law” to halt the vehicle’s activity in the country. The Israeli government has long complained about Al Jazeera's activity, alleging anti-Israel bias.
At the time, Al Jazeera – which covers Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza locally – criticized the decision and promised to continue its “bold and professional coverage”.
The new law gave the prime minister and communications minister the authority to order the temporary closure of foreign networks operating in Israel.
Human rights groups argue that this power could have far-reaching implications for international media coverage of the war in Gaza.
They condemned the move at the time, with Human Rights Watch calling it “an alarming escalation” while the Committee to Protect Journalists said it was “deeply concerned” about the new legislation.
The measure comes amid the meeting of negotiators in Cairo, which began on Saturday (4), in an attempt to guarantee a ceasefire and an agreement on the taking of hostages.
Negotiators have made progress on the technical aspects of a potential deal, but two Israeli sources say it could take a week to finalize the deal itself. Qatar played a key role in negotiating a ceasefire in the ongoing war.
*With information from Simone McCarthy, Kareem Khadder, Eyad Kourdi and Hamdi Alkhshali from CNN International; and from Reuters
Source: CNN Brasil
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