Jerusalem:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office decided on Sunday to halt Al Jazeera's operations in Israel as long as the war in Gaza continues, saying the Qatari television network threatens national security.
“The inflammatory channel Al Jazeera will be closed in Israel,” Netanyahu posted on social media after the 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.
The network is funded by the Qatari government and has strongly criticized Israel's military operation in Gaza, from where it has reported 24 hours a day throughout the war. The Israeli statement made no mention of Al Jazeera's Gaza operations.
Israel's parliament last month ratified a law allowing the temporary closure in Israel of foreign broadcasters deemed a threat to national security.
Al Jazeera made no immediate comment on Sunday, although it previously rejected accusations that it posed a threat to Israel's security and said the closure was an attempt to silence them.
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 Hamas leaders, is trying to broker an agreement on a ceasefire 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.)