Info battle over Gaza

Netanyahu’s government has Al-Jazeera banned

Al-Jazeera journalists in the Gaza Strip(Bild: AFP/MOHAMMED ABED)

Israel wants to close the Arab TV station Al-Jazeera in the country. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday that his government had unanimously decided to do so. Netanyahu referred to "the hate channel Al-Jazeera". 

More than a month ago, Netanyahu had already announced the swift closure of the TV network in Israel, which is based in the Gulf emirate of Qatar. Parliament had previously approved the so-called Al-Jazeera law. This enables the closure of foreign TV stations if they are classified as a risk to state security.

Order to be implemented immediately
Against the backdrop of the Gaza war, Netanyahu had accused the channel of "damaging Israel's security, actively participating in the massacre on October 7 and inciting against Israeli soldiers".

Netanyahu announced the decision on X:

Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said he had signed the closure order and that it would be implemented immediately. According to media reports, this means that offices in Israel could be closed, broadcasting equipment confiscated, the station removed from the cable and satellite television channels and its website blocked.

Repeated criticism of Al-Jazeera
Israel accuses the channel of biased reporting. Since the beginning of the Gaza war, Al-Jazeera has reported extensively on the catastrophic situation in the Gaza Strip and shown images of death and destruction that are rarely seen on Israeli TV stations. The channel also regularly shows videos of attacks on Israeli soldiers by Hamas' military arm, the Qassam Brigades.

Al-Jazeera was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in the Qatari capital Doha. It was one of the first Arab TV stations to publish critical reports on the region and therefore quickly gained popularity in the Arab world. Critics, however, accuse Al-Jazeera of acting as a mouthpiece for Hamas. Before the outbreak of the Gaza war, Qatar itself was considered one of the most important financial supporters of the terrorist organization. Top Hamas representatives also live in Doha.