Israeli rights group decries government decision to close Al Jazeera

ANKARA

An Israeli human rights organization on Sunday criticized a decision by Tel Aviv to shut down Al Jazeera television.

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) said in a statement that the group had petitioned the country's supreme court, seeking an interim ruling to reverse the decision.

Dismissing claims that the move was meant to alleviate security concerns, the ACRI said it was driven by political motivations to silence dissent amid the ongoing war in Gaza and target Arabic media.

Israeli authorities raided the offices of Doha-based Al Jazeera television in Jerusalem and confiscated its equipment on Sunday, shortly after a government decision to shut down the broadcaster.

Last month, Israel’s Knesset (parliament) passed legislation allowing the closure of the Al Jazeera television.

Under the legislation, the communications minister is empowered to shut down foreign networks operating in Israel and confiscate their equipment if the defense minister identifies that their broadcast poses “an actual harm to the state’s security.”

Al Jazeera has an office in Israel and a team of correspondents working year-round, including covering Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 34,600 people since Oct. 7, 2023.