Israel’s decision to close Al Jazeera’s Ramallah bureau, ban its operations in Israel and restrict international media reporting from Gaza is an urgent warning sign for independent journalists around the world. No media outlet anywhere in the world would allow masked, heavily armed security forces to break into their offices.
Armed soldiers from the Israeli far-right regime’s infantry corps stormed the offices of Al Jazeera in the early hours of Sunday, September 22. Brandishing a signed order to close Al Jazeera’s operations in Palestine, they confiscated equipment, interrupted live broadcasts and barricaded the entrance with metal sheets. This blatant attack on press freedom, which forced the immediate closure of Al Jazeera Media Network’s offices in the occupied West Bank, comes after Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet decided in May to end Al Jazeera’s work in Israel.
Relying on a law enacted in 1945, under the British Mandate, Israeli authorities ordered the Ramallah offices to be closed for 45 days to “incitement and support for terrorism”.
The continued targeting of Al Jazeera and its journalists by Israeli authorities is because we are the only international media network covering the Gaza Strip and the occupied territories. The network’s apparent crime has been to show the devastating impact of the Israeli war in Gaza, as well as the constant incursions and raids in the occupied West Bank.
The persistent threats against Al Jazeera of intimidation, obstruction, harm, arrests and even murder are unacceptable. We will exhaust all legal avenues at our disposal to protect our rights and those of our journalists.
Unfortunately, none of this is new. Israel has a long history of attacks on Al Jazeera. But in recent years, these attacks have become more relevant and bolder. In 2017, Netanyahu threatened to close our offices in Jerusalem. In 2021, an Israeli missile destroyed the building housing our offices in Gaza. In 2022, an Israeli sniper shot dead our journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the Jenin refugee camp.
Attacks and harassment have increased since October 2023. In July, Israeli forces carried out the targeted killing of our courageous colleagues, journalist Ismail al Ghoul and cameraman Rami al Rifi, in another attempt to silence the journalists who cover the war and its effects on the war. the lives of millions of people.
We understand that these atrocious acts are part of a systematic campaign against Al Jazeera journalists. This is evidenced by the selective assassinations of our journalists Samer Abu Daqqa and Hamza AlDahdooh, killed by drones, and the murders of relatives of network colleagues since last October.
Even the death of Shireen Abu Akleh has not put an end to the shameful attacks and callous behavior of the Israeli authorities. Israeli police officers burst into Shireen’s funeral procession, knocking the coffin to the ground.
During Sunday’s raid, occupying forces tore down the photo from the Ramallah offices in tribute to Shireen. The deep animosity that the Netanyahu regime feels towards journalists and their work, even after their deaths, is the scandalous materialization of a policy pursued for years.
We are facing a dangerous precedent for journalists and the media, which seriously endangers press freedom and citizens’ right to information, not only with regard to what is happening in the occupied Palestinian territories. , notably in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, but in Israel.
The draconian Israeli legislation aims to silence Al Jazeera and all independent media in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories in order to hide this inhumane war and atrocities being investigated by the world’s highest court.
Accusing Al Jazeera of flouting professional standards is absurd, just as it is outrageous to portray the channel’s cameramen and journalists as a threat to Israel’s security. Uncorroborated and completely unfounded, these accusations constitute a serious threat to the safety of our colleagues.
After successive failures in its attempts to silence Al Jazeera, the Israeli government invokes an emergency in the law to shut down the channel without due process of law, demonstrating how far the prime minister and his far-right cabinet are willing to go to pursue their goal of silencing the international media.
Despite continued Israeli attacks, at Al Jazeera we remain committed to upholding the values enshrined in our code of ethics, by delivering fearless, impartial and accurate journalism. Through their aggression, the Israeli authorities will achieve the opposite of what they want: they will only serve to strengthen our determination to be the voice of those who have no voice, to confront the powerful with the truth. The global recognition that Al Jazeera enjoys among its hundreds of millions of viewers, as well as the awards and recognitions we have received for our courageous coverage of the war in Gaza, are proof of the channel’s impartiality and objectivity .
It is imperative that Israel allows Al Jazeera and all other international media to operate freely; allow independent and international media to enter Gaza; and to put an end to its attempts to intimidate, harass and restrict freedom of information. Israel must be held accountable for its actions against the press. Their impunity must end.
It is time for leaders of the free world to defend the fundamental right to freedom of the press. It is not too late to take severe, immediate and decisive action against the Israeli government and its military apparatus for repeated violations of press freedom and international humanitarian law. Global legal institutions have a duty to hold Israel accountable for these crimes.
The far-right Israeli government has chosen to break the mirror that reflects a painful reality. The world will set a bad precedent if it does not ensure now that journalists in conflict zones are protected and safe and that information flows freely. If that doesn’t happen, history will be the judge.
Translation of Francisco de Zárate
