The move, which comes amid faltering indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire, was branded a "dark day for the media" by critics and raised new concerns about the attitude to free speech of Benjamin Netanyahu's hardline government.
Israeli officials said the move was justified because AI Jazeera was a threat to national security. "The incitement channel AI Jazeera will be closed in Israel," Netanyahu posted on social media after the unanimous cabinet vote.
A government statement said Israel's communications minister had signed orders to "act immediately" to close AI Jazeera's offices in Israel, confiscate broadcast equipment, cut off the channel from cable and satellite companies, and block its websites.
The network, which is funded by Qatar, has been critical of Israel's military operation in Gaza, from where it has reported around the clock during the seven-month-long war.
AI Jazeera said the accusation the network threatened Israeli security was a "dangerous and ridiculous lie" that puts its journalists at risk.
This story is from the May 06, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May 06, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Live and let fly James Bond chopper firm awaits decision on £1bn deal
The Merlin helicopter sitting on a factory floor in Yeovil is a sight familiar to James Bond aficionados from the climactic shootout of the 2012 film Skyfall.
Mental illness is Britons' biggest health concern, survey finds
Mental health has overtaken cancer and obesity as the health issue that is the biggest cause of concern for most Britons, a global survey reveals.
Noise, crime, crowds Rise in tourism stokes tensions in bustling Lake District town
Even on a weekday afternoon at the very tail end of summer, Bowness-onWindermere is bustling with life. Outside the town's pubs and bars, drinkers sip lager and sparkling wine in the warm September sun.
EU's new proposals on youth mobility will put Starmer 'reset' to test
Fresh proposals to allow young people to move between Britain and the EU will be presented to the British government within weeks, in what is seen as a significant early test of Labour's \"reset\" in relations with Brussels.
Reform can win election, Farage tells conference full of hard-right rhetoric
Nigel Farage has predicted he can win the next general election at a packed Reform UK conference that announced a new structure for the party but also leaned heavily into hard-right tropes and occasional conspiracy theories.
Labour Party must focus on cost of living and NHS to keep voters-study
Keir Starmer won the election owing to a ruthless focus on winning over people who voted Conservative in 2019, but the party has been left with a \"fragile coalition\" of supporters who will abandon it if it fails to deal with the cost of living crisis and the NHS, a thinktank has found.
Angela Rayner 'Within five years, people will have a better life'
A longside Michael Foot's \"donkey jacket\", an empty can of BrewDog's Barnard Castle Eye Test beer and a pike from Peterloo, sits a new exhibit at the People's History Museum in Manchester: the jacket Angela Rayner wore when she first stood in at prime minister's questions against Boris Johnson.
The Perfect Couple Were cast right to try to veto opening dance?
Anyone who has been watching The Perfect Couple - Nicole Kidman's glossy whodunnit, which is Netflix's most popular show this month - will have many questions.
Jewish Chronicle How fabrications of writer who came 'out of nowhere' shook the paper
Elon Perry gave the impression he was a mover and a shaker.
Mossad mystery Chequered history of spy agency that is yet to admit sabotage
Israel's foreign intelligence service, usually known as the Mossad, has scored many spectacular wins in almost 80 years of undercover operations, earning a unique reputation for audacious espionage and ruthless violence.
