Al Jazeera condemns ‘dangerous’ Israel action against news channel

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said he will use new powers to stop the Qatar-based news channel being shown in Israel, calling it a ‘terrorist channel’
Israel claimed in January that an Al Jazeera staff journalist and a freelancer killed in a Gaza air strike were ‘terror operatives’

Israel-Gaza war

Agence France-Presse

Published: 6:29am, 2 Apr 2024

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Al Jazeera on Monday condemned what it called “dangerous” moves by the Israeli government to ban the Qatar-based news channel amid a long-running battle over its reporting intensified by coverage of the Israel-Gaza war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will use new powers to stop Al Jazeera being shown in Israel, calling it a “terrorist channel”.

Al Jazeera said “this latest measure comes as part of a series of systematic Israeli attacks to silence Al Jazeera”.

A car belonging to an Al Jazeera team burns at the site where a Reuters journalist was killed and six others were wounded by tank rounds fired from Israel, in Alma al-Chaab, Lebanon, near the border with Israel on October 13. Photo: Reuters

It said this included the killing of one journalist before the October 7 attacks by Hamas in Israel, and the deaths of two more network correspondents and the bombing of its office during the Gaza war since.

Israel claimed in January that an Al Jazeera staff journalist and a freelancer killed in a Gaza air strike were “terror operatives”.

The following month it said another journalist for the channel, wounded in a strike, was a “deputy company commander” with Hamas.

“In an escalating move, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched a frantic campaign against Al Jazeera, accusing it of harming Israel’s security, actively participating in the October 7 attack, and inciting against Israeli soldiers,” the network said in a statement.

“Al Jazeera Media Network condemns these statements and sees as nothing but a dangerous ludicrous lie,” it added.

Al Jazeera rejects Israel army claims slain journalists were ‘terror operatives’

Al Jazeera said attacks against the network had been carried out in a “disgraceful manner”.

“Netanyahu could not find any justifications to offer the world for his ongoing attacks on Al Jazeera and press freedom except to present new lies and inflammatory slanders against the network and the rights of its employees.”

The network said it holds Netanyahu “responsible for the safety of its staff”.

“Al Jazeera reiterates that such slanderous accusations will not deter us from continuing our bold and professional coverage,” it added.

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