UPDATE - Israel's closure of Al Jazeera 'dark day for media': Foreign Press Association

UPDATES WITH STATEMENT BY US-BASED PRESS FREEDOM GROUP

By Rania Abu Shamala, Muhammet Tarhan and Tugba Altun

ISTANBUL (AA) – The Foreign Press Association (FPA), which represents foreign media in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, has condemned a decision by the Israeli government to close Al Jazeera television.

“With this decision, Israel joins a dubious club of authoritarian governments to ban the station,” it said in a statement.

“This is a dark day for the media. This is a dark day for democracy.”

Israeli authorities raided the offices of Doha-based Al Jazeera television in Jerusalem and confiscated its equipment on Sunday, shortly after a government decision to shut down the broadcaster.

Video footage released by the office of Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi showed Israeli officials entering the office and documenting the equipment inside.

According to The Times of Israel newspaper, the news channel was pulled off the air in the country and is no longer available on its two biggest TV providers Yes and Hot.

“We urge the government to reverse this harmful step and uphold its commitment to freedom of the press — including outlets whose coverage it may not like,” the FPA said.

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, for its part, termed the Israeli ban of the Qatar-owned television as a “war crime.”

"This decision poses a great danger to the lives of journalists working for Al Jazeera, and in all international and local media outlets,” it said in a statement.

The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) also condemned the decision.

"The CPJ condemns the Israeli cabinet's decision to shut down Al-Jazeera's operations in Israel and warns that the vote could set a dangerous precedent for other international media outlets working in Israel," Director of Programs Carlos Martinez de la Serna said on X.

Last month, Israel’s Knesset (parliament) passed legislation allowing the closure of the Al Jazeera television.

Under the legislation, the communications minister is empowered to shut down foreign networks operating in Israel and confiscate their equipment if the defense minister identifies that their broadcast poses “an actual harm to the state’s security.”

Al Jazeera has an office in Israel and a team of correspondents working year-round, including covering Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 34,600 people since Oct. 7, 2023.

*Zehra Nur Duz contributed to the story