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Israel’s far-right government has voted to shut down the Qatari-funded satellite channel Al Jazeera and prevent it from operating in the country, accusing it of being a “mouthpiece of Hamas” and a threat to national security.
The motion was unanimously approved during the weekly Cabinet meeting on Sunday, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declaring: “Al-Jazeera reporters have damaged Israel’s security and incited against Israel.” [Israel Defense Forces] Soldiers. It is time to remove Hamas’ mouthpiece from our country.”
Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said in a video that the decision would take effect immediately. Authorities were expected to close the station’s offices, revoke the licenses of several dozen journalists and staff and confiscate broadcasting equipment.
Al Jazeera did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But after Netanyahu threatened to shut down the channel last month, it said the prime minister’s allegations were “lies that endanger the safety of our journalists around the world.”
The government’s actions come at a time when Israeli officials have stepped up their criticism of Qatar, where Hamas’s political office is located and plays a key role in brokering hostage negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian militant group.
Qatari officials have increasingly expressed frustration with Israel. Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said last month that the Gulf state was reassessing its role as a mediator in the conflict and complained that Doha’s efforts were being undermined and exploited by politicians with “limited interests.”
Al Jazeera’s English and Arabic language channels are expected to be blocked by Israeli cable providers. It was not yet clear how the move would affect the branch’s operations and availability in the occupied West Bank.
Israel has been threatening to ban the channel for several years, although just last month the Israeli parliament passed a law allowing the closure of foreign media outlets deemed a security risk.
The move is likely to provoke widespread condemnation in Western and Arab capitals. Qatar founded the satellite network, which is popular throughout the Arab world, in 1996.
Qatar, along with the United States and Egypt, has been a key mediator between Israel and Hamas since the militant group’s Oct. 7 attack sparked the war in Gaza.
Those efforts continue despite Netanyahu’s insistence that Israel’s war in Gaza would not end regardless of whether a new hostage ceasefire agreement is reached, as mediators wait for an official response to Hamas’s latest proposal for one Wait for agreement.
Netanyahu vowed again that he would reject what he called Hamas’s “extreme” positions, including a permanent end to the war, the complete withdrawal of the Israeli military from Gaza and “leaving the Gaza Strip.”[ing] Hamas intact.”
“Israel will not comply with Hamas’ demands, which would mean surrender; “It will continue to fight until all its goals are achieved,” he said in a video message on Sunday.
Reports in Arab media over the weekend suggested that Hamas would respond favorably to a deal brokered by Egypt, Qatar and the United States. That deal would halt fighting in Gaza for an initial six weeks in exchange for the release of 33 Israeli hostages seized by the militant group on October 7.
The deal discussed in Cairo would also provide for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons, the further withdrawal of the IDF from the devastated coastal enclave and the return of many displaced Palestinians to their homes in northern Gaza.
Mediators have sought to bridge the gap between the warring factions through a multi-stage deal that would work toward “restoring sustainable calm” – a formulation that an Israeli official last week called a “creative design” and that was aimed at preventing a hostage crisis -Deal to enable advance.
Senior U.S. officials praised Israel for its flexibility in this latest round of talks and called the deal on offer “extraordinarily generous” to Hamas.
But they are also concerned about Netanyahu’s insistence that Israel will launch an offensive against Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, where more than a million people have sought refuge, regardless of whether there is a hostage deal or not, even though the U.S. and UN organizations have warned of such an attack having dire humanitarian consequences.
In a sign of increasing urgency and pressure on both parties, the US sent CIA chief Bill Burns to Egypt over the weekend to step up efforts to reach a deal.
Israel on Saturday refrained from sending a negotiating team back to Cairo for further talks, insisting it would first wait for Hamas’ response.
Netanyahu is under intense pressure from his far-right political allies, who have openly threatened to topple his ruling coalition if the proposal is approved.
“No to a reckless deal, yes to Rafah,” National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir wrote on X on Saturday. “The Prime Minister knows very well what the price of not fulfilling these commitments is.”
Opposition leaders and family members of the hostages criticized Netanyahu for trying to scuttle the potential deal by influencing Hamas’ decision and for playing politics with the fate of the 132 Israelis still held in Gaza.
Benny Gantz, a centrist War Cabinet member and Netanyahu’s main political rival, urged the Israeli leader to “keep a cool head and not become hysterical for political reasons.”