(VitalNews.org) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has just announced that they voted to shut down Israeli-based news outlet Al Jazeera and confiscate some of their equipment. This news comes after Netanyahu said that Al Jazeera has been the “mouthpiece” of Hamas.
Said Netanyahu, “After discussion by the Security Cabinet and pursuant to my directive, today the Government discussed closing Al Jazeera broadcasts in Israel.”
He continued, “Al Jazeera correspondents have harmed the security of Israel and incited against IDF soldiers. The time has come to eject Hamas’s mouthpiece from our country.”
“We will take immediate action against those who use freedom of the press to harm the security of Israel and IDF soldiers, and incite terrorism in time of war,” said Karhi, the Israeli Communications Minister.
Karhi continued, “There will be no freedom of expression for Hamas’s mouthpieces in Israel. Al Jazeera will be closed immediately and its equipment will be confiscated.”
Al Jazeera says that this is “deceptive and slanderous” in a statement that they posted on X.
“Ironically as the world marked World Press Freedom Day; the Israeli government closed Al Jazeera’s offices, preventing the public from accessing its content, disregarding the universally recognized fundamentals of freedom of expression,” the news company said.
They continued by saying that they reject any allegations presented by the Israeli government suggesting that their media standards have been violated.
This conversation started in April when Netanyahu first said that they planned to stop Al Jazeera’s broadcasting. “Al Jazeera has harmed Israel’s security, actively participated in the October 7 massacre, and incited against IDF soldiers. It’s time to remove Hamas’ mouthpiece from our country,” he said at the time.
This dates back even a couple of years ago when Hamas honored Al Jazeera for covering the hostilities that were going on in the country of Israel.
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