GAZA,Palestine, May, 21, 2024 – Israel on Tuesday, in an effort to prevent the world from throwing light on their ongoing genocide in Gaza, prevented the U.S. news agency Associated Press (AP) from broadcasting images of the Gaza Strip.
The Associated Press says Israeli authorities have seized a camera and broadcasting equipment belonging to the US news agency in southern Israel, shutting down its live feed of Gaza.
AP’s vice-president Lauren Easton said it “decries in the strongest terms the actions of the Israeli government”.
The White House expressed concern, while the Foreign Press Association said it was alarmed by “the latest in a series of chilling steps by the Israeli government to stifle the media”.
Latest from the only democracy in the Middle East – Israel has seized the equipment of Associated Press and taken down the AP live feed from inside Israel showing northern Gaza.
Israel is using the law that was passed to ban Al Jazeera to now target other media organisations. pic.twitter.com/AQfYhNaqKW
— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) May 21, 2024
Israel’s communications ministry said the equipment was confiscated because it was violating a new media law by providing images for broadcasts on the Qatar-based Al Jazeera network, which it has banned.
Israeli authorities based their decision on the so-called ‘Al Jazeera Law’, under which foreign media outlets can be forced to stop broadcasting in Israel for security reasons.
The Al Jazeera Act’s prohibitions, which last for a period of 45 days and can be extended, include the closure of offices, confiscation of equipment, and blocking of websites.
Associated Press journalists were broadcasting a live overview of northern Gaza from Sderot, an Israeli city on the border, when they were forced to stop transmitting by Israeli officials carrying an order signed by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi.
Before Israel confiscated AP’s equipment, authorities issued a verbal order against the agency to cease its broadcast, but the journalists refused.
The Communications Ministry stated it had taken the “necessary measures” to limit broadcasts they believe harm state security.
On May 5, following the approval of the new media law, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration closed Al Jazeera’s offices in Jerusalem and also interrupted its television channel in the country.
#FromTheSouth News Bits | Palestine: The Gaza Strip’s Health Ministry raised the death toll from Israeli attacks since October 7 on the Palestinian territory to 35,303. pic.twitter.com/8qG9ydfNnq
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) May 17, 2024
Al Jazeera is one of the few media outlets with an extensive network of workers in Gaza. By closing this media outlet, Israel made it notoriously difficult to cover a war in which Israeli occupation forces have killed over 35,400 Palestinians since October 7, 2023. (WiredJA)