Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Israel’s decision to shut Al Jazeera
The watchdog group says the move could set a dangerous precedent for other international media and news outlets working in the country. “CPJ condemns the closure of Al Jazeera’s office in Israel and the blocking of the channel’s websites,” Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna said in New York.
“This move sets an extremely alarming precedent for restricting international media outlets working in Israel. The Israeli cabinet must allow Al Jazeera and all international media outlets to operate freely in Israel, especially during wartime.”
Al Jazeera banned by Israel for ‘brave journalism’: ECFR’s Bildt
Carl Bildt, co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), points out that Al Jazeera has been reporting from inside Gaza throughout the war, showing the disturbing realities of Israel’s war to the world.
“You might agree or disagree with [Israel’s] policies, but it has been brave journalism,” the former Swedish prime minister wrote in a post on X. “As a result they are now banned by the Israeli government.”
Still no response from US on shutting down of Al Jazeera in Israel
We’re still waiting for some sort of comment from the US government. We’ve reached out to the White House. We’ve reached out to the State Department, but … it is still early on Sunday here in the United States. So it may be a while before we get some sort of comment.
Now, of course, there has been some reporting earlier on in the war in Gaza suggesting that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had made appeals to Qatari officials to put pressure on journalists at Al Jazeera to tone down some of their rhetoric in their reporting.
The State Department has refused to confirm that this conversation ever took place.
Shutting of Al Jazeera like closing down ‘free press’
Israeli journalist Gideon Levy has called Israel’s shutdown of Al Jazeera a “shame”.
“I can tell you as a viewer … not as a commentator, and not as a writer, that for me the last seven months Al Jazeera English … was one of the most important sources of information about what’s going on in Gaza,” he told Al Jazeera.
“To close it down means closing down the option of a free press.”
Levy, a columnist at Israeli newspaper Haaretz, speculated that the shutdown may be politically motivated to pressure Qatar in the ongoing truce negotiations. “Al Jazeera is a Qatari network. And Qatar is one of those [countries] that are pulling and pushing for a settlement [to reach a truce deal in Gaza], some deal,” he said.
“[Israeli PM] Netanyahu is doing everything possible in the last two or three days to sabotage a deal.”
Netanyahu says Gaza victory is ‘only way to guarantee our existence’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has again insisted that “victory” in the Gaza war will be an existential issue for Israel, during a state-organised Holocaust memorial ceremony.
“Our test is to continue and stand together until we reach victory because these are fateful days and this is the only way to guarantee our existence and our future,” he was quoted as saying by the Times of Israel.
He emphasised that Hamas has the “same intention” as the Nazis did during World War II to eliminate the Jewish people, and has only failed to do so because Israel is now able to “defend” itself.
This comes as Netanyahu has repeatedly stressed his intention for “total victory” in Gaza, through launching a ground invasion of Rafah, where some 1.5 million Palestinians are sheltering.
I doubt he even sees destroying Rafah as victory, he only wants to keep the war and occupation going on indefinitely. He's nothing but a fear mongering psychopathic dictator wannabee.
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