Israel shutters Al Jazeera, continues to kill journalists

Tamara Nassar / Electornic Intifada

Israel’s genocide in Gaza has shattered the veneer of press freedom.

As the New York Times receives a Pulitzer Prize for its international reporting despite revelations debunking articles it had published accusing Hamas of using mass rape as a weapon of war, and as Western mainstream media elites gathered at the White House press dinner with President Joe Biden despite his relentless support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza, Israel’s unimpeded attacks on journalists continue.

Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet voted to shut down operations of the Al Jazeera network in present-day Israel.

The move followed a recent law passed by the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, allowing the temporary shutdown of foreign broadcasters if the Israeli government deems they pose a threat to national security amid its ongoing bombing of Palestinians in Gaza.

Last Sunday, Israeli police raided Al Jazeera’s offices in Jerusalem, revoking press accreditations and prohibiting the network from airing its broadcasts.

Al Jazeera condemned Israel’s closure of its operations as a “criminal act,” asserting that it constituted a violation of international and humanitarian law.