JERUSALEM/DOHA, May 5 (Reuters) - Israeli authorities raided a Jerusalem hotel room used by Al Jazeera as its office after the government decided to shut down the Qatari-owned TV station’s local operations on Sunday, an Israeli official and an Al Jazeera source told Reuters.
Video circulated online showed plainclothes officers dismantling camera equipment in a hotel room, which the Al Jazeera source said was in East Jerusalem. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet shut down the network for as long as the war in Gaza continues, saying it threatened national security.
“Al Jazeera Media Network strongly condemns and denounces this criminal act that violates human rights and the basic right to access of information,” the network said in a statement. “Al Jazeera affirms its right to continue to provide news and information to its global audiences.”
The UN Human Rights Office also criticised the closure. “We regret cabinet decision to close Al Jazeera in Israel,” it said on X. “A free & independent media is essential to ensuring transparency & accountability. Now, even more so given tight restrictions on reporting from Gaza. Freedom of expression is a key human right. We urge govt to overturn ban.”
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I’m starting to think Netanyahu might be a bad guy.
I, like the UN, regret his decisions
I’ll bet Al Jazeera had / has some really bad evidence of war crimes and genocide
Huh. Just before the ground invasion of Rafah, too. I’m sure that there will be no crimes against humanity there. Nope nope nope.
Biden Administration: if you want the vote, displace Netanyahu. Your constituents are watching attentively.
Has Germany shut down Al-Jazeera within its borders yet?
Maybe they’re going for the EU ban angle.
