Al Jazeera calls for Israel to lift renewed 90-day ban
The network condemned the extension of restrictions on its operations in Israel and said it was reviewing the decision with its lawyers.
By Pablo Montgomery ·
Al Jazeera Media Network has demanded the immediate removal of a ban on its operations in Israel after authorities extended the restrictions for another 90 days. The measures cover its broadcasts, offices and access to its websites and digital platforms. A Tel Aviv court approved the government's extension last week.
In a statement on Monday, November 2, the Qatar-based broadcaster condemned the decision as an attack on press freedom and the public's access to information. It said the restrictions threatened news organisations' capacity to establish facts and scrutinise people in positions of power. The statement followed the network's 30th anniversary on Sunday.
The network rejected the allegations behind the ban and challenged the procedure used to renew it. According to Al Jazeera, the extension relied on confidential material that neither its representatives nor its lawyers could examine or answer. It argued that this prevented a meaningful defence and failed to meet basic standards of due process.
The shutdown began after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet voted in May 2024 to close Al Jazeera's operations in Israel during the war in Gaza. That decision followed legislation allowing Israel to temporarily shut foreign broadcasters deemed a threat to national security. Press freedom organisations strongly criticised the move.
Restrictions also reached the network's operations in the occupied West Bank. In September 2024, Israeli forces raided its Ramallah offices, seized equipment and documents, and closed the premises. Earlier confrontations included Netanyahu's 2017 threat to close Al Jazeera's Jerusalem office and an Israeli missile strike in 2021 that destroyed the building containing its Gaza office. Netanyahu is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes in Gaza.
Al Jazeera journalists were among more than 200 Palestinian journalists killed by Israel during the Gaza war. In some cases, members of their families were killed as well.
In May 2022, Israeli soldiers shot dead Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the occupied West Bank. Israel first denied responsibility, then acknowledged a high possibility that one of its soldiers had killed her. Abu Akleh was known for her reporting on the ground in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Al Jazeera said efforts to silence the network would not stop its reporting from bureaus worldwide, reaffirming its commitment to accuracy and integrity. It is assessing the latest decision with legal advisers and said it retained the right to take appropriate legal action to safeguard its journalists, its rights and public access to information.
Source: Al Jazeera
