Israel has apprehended journalists whom authorities mistakenly thought were affiliated with Al Jazeera, the news broadcaster that has been prohibited from the country due to its reporting on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s actions during the Gaza conflict.
The New Arab, an English-language news website based in London and covering Middle Eastern affairs, has recently disclosed the arrests. This website is the sister publication of Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, an Arabic-language news outlet.
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Several journalists were arrested on Saturday night while covering protests in Tel Aviv calling for a hostage deal. They were working for Al-Araby Al-Jadeed at the time of their arrest. According to Israeli journalist Oran Ziv, the authorities questioned the crew after they saw live footage of the protests being broadcasted by Al-Jazeera, despite the ban.
According to Ziv, the Ministry of Communication failed to consider the possibility that Al Jazeera might be utilizing a live feed from one of the international agencies present at the protests to cover a hostage deal. Ziv shared this observation on social media, highlighting that Al Jazeera is prohibited from reporting directly from Israel.
Last weekend, the Netanyahu government made the decision to conduct a raid on the Jerusalem offices of Al Jazeera and forcibly close down the broadcaster. This action, ironically taking place just after World Press Freedom Day, has been heavily criticized by many who view it as a severe infringement on press freedom.
Al Jazeera, in a news article discussing the closure, emphasized that it has consistently refuted the allegations made by Netanyahu’s government.
