Israel is set to close down Al Jizz’s office in Jerusalem.
Israel is moving forward to revoke media credentials of Al Jazeera journalists and close the network’s office in Jerusalem, the country’s communication minister has announced.
Ayoub Kara made the announcement on Sunday during a press conference, where Al Jazeera was barred from attending.
“We have based our decision on the move by Sunni Arab states to close the Al Jazeera offices and prohibiting their work,” Kara said, adding that the channel is being used by groups to “incite” violence.
Kara said he expects Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, to consider his request in the next session.
“I will go through the legislatory mechanism to create the authority in which I can act freely. We will try to end it as quickly as possible.”
Al Jazeera’s Scott Heidler, reporting from Jerusalem on Sunday, said that the request to revoke the credentials cover all the networks journalists in both the Arabic and English channels.
It was unclear when the government will act on the request.
Our correspondent reported that Israel is also seeking to shut down Al Jazeera’s cable and satellite transmissions in the country.
During the press conference, Kara also said that the interior ministry will also be involved in shutting down Al Jazeera’s office in Jerusalem.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been threatening to shut Al Jazeera’s operations in the country, accusing the network of inciting violence against Israel.
Here’s hoping we do. Because there is no doubt that Al Jizz incites terror through the propaganda it inseminates disseminates.
By the way, MK Ayoub Kara is Druze, not Jew, so his very existence as an MK goes against pretty much everything Al Jizz writes about us.
