Al Jazeera office raided as Israel takes channel off air - Adomonline.com

According to Reuters news agency, the Israeli satellite service Yes displayed a message that read: “In accordance with the government decision, the Al Jazeera station’s broadcasts have been stopped in Israel.”

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) said they had filed a request to the country’s Supreme Court to issue an interim order to overturn the ban.

The Foreign Press Association (FPA) urged the Israeli government to reconsider its decision, saying the shut down of Al Jazeera in the country should be “a cause for concern for all supporters of a free press”.

The FPA said in a statement that Israel now joins “a dubious club of authoritarian governments to ban the station”, and warned that Mr Netanyahu has the authority to target other foreign outlets that he considers to be “acting against the state”.

The Committee to Protect Journalists’ (CPJ) Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna echoed the same concerns, saying: “The Israeli cabinet must allow Al Jazeera and all international media outlets to operate freely in Israel, especially during wartime.”

Foreign journalists are banned from entering Gaza, and Al Jazeera staff there have been some of the only reporters on the ground.

Qatar, where Al Jazeera is headquartered, is mediating talks between Israel and Hamas over the now almost seven-month-long conflict.