Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists (CDFJ) condemned the Israeli government’s unanimous decision to close Al Jazeera in Israel, confiscate its equipment, and withdraw press cards from its correspondents, noting that the decision will be implemented immediately.
The Center said in an issued statement, “targeting of Al Jazeera is due to its press coverage of the war on Gaza, which revealed the Israeli crimes committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and helped change international public opinion to become more supportive of the Palestinian cause.”
CDFJ stressed the need for the world to take action to stop these decisions that prevent the press from exercising its role, recalling that the Israeli occupation has prevented all media outlets in the world from entering Gaza and covering the war that Israel has been waging for 7 months.
Further, the Center stressed that the Israeli occupation authority reveals every day its aggression towards the press and anyone who reveals the truth about this racist, extremist entity that is hostile to human rights.
CDFJ called for international action to prosecute and hold Israel accountable for its crimes against the press, declaring its full solidarity with Al Jazeera, and its keenness to support it so that it can carry out its work freely and independently.