‘Criminal move’: Al Jazeera condemns decision to ban network in Israel

 ‘Criminal move’: Al Jazeera condemns decision to ban network in Israel

Broadcasting network Al Jazeera on Sunday condemned Israel's move of banning its operations in the country, calling it a “criminal decision.”

Qatar-based network Al Jazeera on Sunday reacted to Israel's decision of banning the broadcaster and its operations in the country. Al Jazeera said that it was a “criminal decision”, saying that it violates basic human rights of the people in the country trying to access information.

Al Jazeera said in its statement on social media platform X, “We condemn and denounce this criminal act by Israel that violates the human right to access information.”

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his government decided to unanimously close the channel over its coverage of the Gaza war. This decision comes after months of criticism of Al Jazeera by the Netanyahu government, which began even before Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza.

The official statement from the Israeli government said that the measure to ban Al Jazeera in the country will include closing Al Jazeera's offices in Israel, confiscating broadcast equipment, cutting off the channel from cable and satellite companies and blocking its websites. It did not mention Al Jazeera's Gaza operations.

Read more: Why Netanyahu cabinet voted to end Al Jazeera's operations in Israel amidst Gaza war

Israel's Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said he had issued the order to shutter the channel, confiscate equipment and restrict broadcasting to Al Jazeera's websites in a separate joint statement with the Israeli premier.

Since the war between Israel and Hamas began after the October 7 attacks, Al Jazeera has been continuously airing its ground reports from Gaza, showing the aftermath in the areas hit by Israel's offence.

The network's office in Gaza has been bombed in the conflict and two of its correspondents have been killed. Al Jazeera alleged earlier that Israel has been deliberately targeting and killing its journalists reporting on-ground from Gaza. However, Israel responded that it does not target journalists.

Read more: Wife, 3 children: How Al Jazeera journalist Wael al-Dahdouh's family killed in Israel strikes in Gaza

Al Jazeera previously called Israeli efforts to curtail its operations an "escalation" and said in a statement in early April that it "comes as part of a series of systematic Israeli attacks to silence Al Jazeera".

Two journalists from Al Jazeera - Samer Abu Daqqa and Hamza AlDahdooh - were killed in the middle of the Gaza conflict during airstrikes by the Israeli military.