Qatar-based media network calls move ‘assault’ on press freedom, warns of ‘dangerous pattern’ that undermines ability of news organisations to report.Al Jazeera Media Network has strongly condemned the Israeli authorities’ decision to extend a ban on its operations in Israel for another 90 days, including the suspension of its broadcasts, the closure of its offices and the restriction of access to its websites and digital platforms.In a statement on Monday, the Qatar-based network said it considered the move “an assault” on press freedom and the public’s right to information, warning it set “a dangerous pattern that undermines the ability of news organisations to report the facts and hold those in power to account”.It came after a court in Tel Aviv approved last week the Israeli government’s decision to extend the ban for a further 90 days.⁣In May 2024, at the height of Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet had voted to shut Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel. The decision, which was strongly criticised by press freedom groups, followed the passage of a law by the Israeli parliament that allowed the temporary closure of foreign broadcasters considered to be a “threat to national security”.In September that year, Israeli forces also stormed Al Jazeera’s offices in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, confiscating equipment and documents and closing the network’s office.Al Jazeera, which on Sunday marked its 30th anniversary, said in the statement it “categorically rejects the allegations used to justify the ban” and called for its immediate lifting.“The Network notes that the extension was based on secret material which neither the Network nor its lawyers were permitted to see or respond to, denying it any genuine opportunity to defend itself and falling short of the most basic guarantees of due process,” it said.Al Jazeera has been targeted by Israel for years.

In 2017, Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes in Gaza, threatened to shut down its Jerusalem office, and an Israeli missile destroyed the building housing its office in Gaza in 2021.Many Al Jazeera journalists were among more than 200 Palestinian journalists killed by Israel during its genocidal war on Gaza. In several cases, their family members were also killed.In May 2022, Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot dead by Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank.

Israel initially denied responsibility, but later admitted there was a “high possibility” that one of its soldiers had killed the journalist, known for her ground reporting from the occupied Palestinian territory.In its statement, Al Jazeera said that “attempts to silence it will not deter it from fulfilling its mission and continuing its coverage with accuracy and integrity from its bureaus around the world”.“The Network is reviewing the decision with its legal counsel and reserves the right to pursue all appropriate legal measures to protect its journalists, its rights and the public’s right to information,” it added.