The Qatari television channel Al Jazeera denounced this Monday Israel’s veto on its broadcast and has criticized the statements of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which he described as “dangerous and ridiculous lies.” The Israeli Parliament approved this Monday a law called the Al Jazeera Law that allows the closure of foreign media, a rule that has been rejected by the international community for endangering press freedom.

“SentenceWe see Netanyahu’s statements, but we only find a description for them: that they are a dangerous and ridiculous lie. “Nentayahu has found no justification for his continued attacks against Al Jazeera and press freedom, except lies and slander,” reads a statement.

The Qatari channel Al Jazeera accuses Israel of attacking press freedom by banning its broadcasts in an attempt to limit information about the war in Gaza, and showed its commitment to coverage despite “the slander.” “Slander and accusations will not deter Al Jazeera from continuing its coverage in a bold and professional manner, and we reserve all our legal rights,” the network said in a statement in which it blamed the Israeli prime minister. “for the safety of its equipment and facilities throughout the area“.

The television defined Netanyahu’s statements as “dangerous and ridiculous lies”, who described it as a “terrorist channel” that “harmed Israel’s security, actively participated in the massacre of October 7”, when the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attacked Israeli territory and killed around 1,200 people. Likewise, Al Jazeera added in the note that “Netanyahu has no justification for his continued attacks against the Qatari media and press freedom except lies and slander,” which he considered “part of a series of systematic Israeli violations to silence Al Jazeera.”

This was Al Jazeera’s response after the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) approved this Monday the ‘Al Jazeera Law’, which temporarily prohibits the retransmission in Israel of any foreign media that “harms the security of the State”, and that seeks to limit from today information about the war in the Palestinian enclave of the Qatari canal. This law grants the Minister of Communications the power to order “content providers”, for a renewable period of 45 days, the end of its broadcast from the country; in addition to the closure of its offices, the confiscation of its equipment and the blocking of its website server.

Getting information about what is happening in the Palestinian enclave is difficult because Israel has prevented the entry of international press into Gaza since the start of the war almost six months agobut Al Jazeera is one of the channels with the greatest deployment in the Strip and since October it has reported on bombings of hospitals, residential buildings and civilian deaths, which according to experts could be war crimes.

USA: “An action like this is worrying”

The United States expressed its concern about the decision of the Israeli Parliament: “An action like this is worrying. “We believe in freedom and the United States supports the critically important work that journalists do around the world and that includes those who report on the conflict in Gaza,” the White House spokeswoman said at the daily press conference. , Karine Jean-Pierre.

Also the spokesperson for the general secretariat of the UNStéphane Dujarric, has said that the closure of Al Jazeera, if it comes to fruition “It’s worrying.” because “any limitation on the right of journalists to work from anywhere in the world is of great concern.” Along these lines, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) noted that this law is “a significant threat to international media in the country,” which “contributes to a climate of self-censorship and hostility toward the press, a trend that has escalated since the war between Israel and Gaza began.