Barghouti: The closure of Al Jazeera in Israel is an indication of Tel Aviv’s fear of exposing its crimes

The Secretary-General of the Palestinian National Initiative Movement, Mustafa Barghouti, considered today, Sunday, that the decision to close Al Jazeera in Israel is “a sign of weakness, and an indication of the Tel Aviv government’s fear of the power of truth and of the channel’s role in exposing war crimes taking place in Palestine.”

Barghouti said, in a statement, commenting on the Israeli government’s unanimous vote earlier on Sunday to close the offices of the Qatari Al Jazeera channel in Israel, that “the extremist government of Israel is waging a war on freedom of media and expression, especially in the Gaza Strip.”

He explained that the government "prevented all foreign and Arab journalists from entering the Gaza Strip, and killed at least 130 Palestinian journalists and some of their families, in an attempt to silence the truth and prevent the extent of Israeli crimes from being revealed."

He added: "The Israeli government's unjust decision will not weaken Al Jazeera's leading professional role in the Arabic and English languages, but rather will increase its follow-up rate and enhance its distinguished journalistic role."

Earlier on Sunday, the official Israeli Broadcasting Authority said, citing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office: “The decision to close Al Jazeera in Israel was issued unanimously by the government.”

In his comment on the decision, Netanyahu said, in a post on the “X” platform: “The government headed by me decided unanimously: to close the incitement channel, Al Jazeera, in Israel,” expressing his thanks to the Minister of Communications, Shlomo Karai.

Last April, the Israeli Knesset approved a law allowing the Prime Minister and the Minister of Communications to ban foreign media outlets that “harm Israel’s security.”

This law was called the “Al Jazeera Law” in the media, as it was originally designed to prevent the Qatari channel from broadcasting, but it includes all foreign media outlets.

Israeli officials and official spokesmen repeatedly attacked Al Jazeera after it devoted a wide space to covering the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip for about 7 months, and broadcast video clips showing Israeli drones targeting Palestinian civilians and airdrop aid seekers.

Since last October 7, the Israeli army has been waging a devastating war on Gaza, leaving tens of thousands martyred and wounded, most of them children and women, which required Tel Aviv to be put on trial before the International Court of Justice on the grounds of “genocide.”