Theextraordinary move is believed to be the first time Israel has evershuttered a foreign news outlet.
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that his government has voted unanimously to shut down the local offices of Qatar-owned broadcaster Al Jazeera, escalating Israel’s long-running feud with the channel at a time when cease-fire negotiations with Hamas — mediated by Qatar — are gaining steam.
The extraordinary move is believed to be the first time Israel has ever shuttered a foreign news outlet, although its government has taken action against individual reporters in the past. The statement from Netanyahu’s office said that under a law passed last month, the government can take action against a foreign channel seen as “harming the country.”
The decision threatens to heighten tensions with Qatar at a time when the Doha government is playing a key role in mediation efforts to halt the war in Gaza, along with Egypt and the United States. Israel has long had a rocky relationship with Al Jazeera, accusing it of bias. Relations took a major downturn nearly two years ago when Al Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh was killed during an Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank.
An order barring a broadcaster is seen as an extraordinary measure by the Israeli government, which broadly allows media outlets to operate in the country. However, the government has in the past revoked press cards issued to individual correspondents over their coverage.
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