Israeli authorities shut down the local offices of Al Jazeera on Sunday, hours after a government vote to use new laws to close the satellite news network’s operations in the country.
Critics called the move, which comes as faltering indirect ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas continue, a “dark day for the media” and raised new concerns about the attitude to free speech of Benjamin Netanyahu’s hardline government.
Al Jazeera has previously accused the Israeli authorities of deliberately targeting several of its journalists, including Samer Abu Daqqa and Hamza Al-Dahdouh, both killed in Gaza during the conflict.
While including on-the-ground reporting of the war’s casualties, Al Jazeera’s Arabic-language service often publishes verbatim video statements from Hamas and other militant groups in the region, drawing sharp criticism from Israeli officials.
The National Unity party, a centrist member of the ruling coalition, said that coming as ceasefire talks appeared close to failing, it could “sabotage efforts” to free Israeli hostages in Gaza.
The small Gulf state, where several Hamas political leaders are based, was a key mediator in the talks but has been marginalised in recent weeks, which may have encouraged the Israeli government to act.
The original article contains 708 words, the summary contains 194 words. Saved 73%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
autotldr@lemmings.world [bot] 11 months ago
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Israeli authorities shut down the local offices of Al Jazeera on Sunday, hours after a government vote to use new laws to close the satellite news network’s operations in the country.
Critics called the move, which comes as faltering indirect ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas continue, a “dark day for the media” and raised new concerns about the attitude to free speech of Benjamin Netanyahu’s hardline government.
Al Jazeera has previously accused the Israeli authorities of deliberately targeting several of its journalists, including Samer Abu Daqqa and Hamza Al-Dahdouh, both killed in Gaza during the conflict.
While including on-the-ground reporting of the war’s casualties, Al Jazeera’s Arabic-language service often publishes verbatim video statements from Hamas and other militant groups in the region, drawing sharp criticism from Israeli officials.
The National Unity party, a centrist member of the ruling coalition, said that coming as ceasefire talks appeared close to failing, it could “sabotage efforts” to free Israeli hostages in Gaza.
The small Gulf state, where several Hamas political leaders are based, was a key mediator in the talks but has been marginalised in recent weeks, which may have encouraged the Israeli government to act.
The original article contains 708 words, the summary contains 194 words. Saved 73%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!