Jerusalem:
Israeli authorities raided a Jerusalem hotel room used as an office by Al Jazeera after the government decided on Sunday to close the Qatari television station's local operations, an Israeli official and an Al Jazeera source told Reuters.
Video circulating online showed plainclothes officers dismantling camera equipment in a hotel room, which the Al Jazeera source said was in East Jerusalem.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has closed the network while the war in Gaza continues, saying it poses a threat to national security.
Al Jazeera called the action a “criminal action” and the accusation that the network threatened Israeli security was a “dangerous and ridiculous lie” that endangered journalists.
It reserved the right to “take any legal action”.
The network has criticized Israel's military operation in Gaza, from which it has reported throughout the war.
“The inflammatory channel Al Jazeera will be closed in Israel,” Netanyahu posted on social media after a unanimous cabinet vote.
A government statement said Israel's communications minister signed orders to “act immediately,” but at least one lawmaker who supported the shutdown said Al Jazeera could still try to block it in court.
The measure, the statement said, includes closing Al Jazeera's offices in Israel, seizing broadcast equipment, cutting off the channel from cable and satellite companies and blocking its websites. There was no mention of Al Jazeera's Gaza operations.
Israeli satellite and cable TV providers suspended Al Jazeera broadcasts following the government's decision.
There was no official comment from the Qatari government, which surrendered to Al Jazeera.
The network complained last month about “a series of systematic Israeli attacks aimed at silencing Al Jazeera.”
It said Israel deliberately attacked and killed a number of its journalists, including Samer Abu Daqqa and Hamza AlDahdooh, both of whom were killed during the Gaza conflict. Israel has said it does not target journalists.
Qatar founded Al Jazeera in 1996 and sees it as a way to boost its global profile.
“Al Jazeera Media Network strongly condemns and denounces this criminal act that violates human rights and the fundamental right of access to information,” the network said in a statement. “Al Jazeera affirms its right to continue providing news and information to its global audience.”
The UN Human Rights Office also criticized the closure.
“We regret the cabinet's decision to close Al Jazeera in Israel,” read X. “Free and independent media are essential to ensure transparency and accountability. Now even more so because of the strict restrictions on reporting from Gaza. Freedom of expression is a most important human right. We urge the government to overturn the ban.”
Israel's parliament last month ratified a law allowing the temporary closure in Israel of foreign broadcasters deemed a threat to national security.
The law allows Netanyahu and his security cabinet to close the network's offices in Israel for 45 days, a period that could be extended so it could remain in effect until the end of July or until the end of major military operations in Gaza.
Qatar, home to several Hamas political leaders, is trying to broker a ceasefire deal and the release of hostages that could end the war in Gaza.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Our staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)