Following the cessation of Al Jazeera’s broadcasts in Israel on Sunday, police confiscated the news network’s broadcasting equipment from its Jerusalem offices in the afternoon, as reported by The Times of Israel.
The move came after the Israeli government approved a decision earlier to temporarily shut down the outlet, citing concerns that it posed threats to national security through various means.
Israel’s two largest TV providers, Yes and Hot, did not carry the channel for several hours after the government decided to suspend its operations.
As of Sunday evening, some internet providers still had access to Al Jazeera’s English-language and Arabic websites.
Simultaneously, police officers and inspectors from the Communications Ministry arrived at Al Jazeera’s Jerusalem offices to seize the channel’s broadcast equipment and seal the premises.
Footage released by the office of Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, who spearheaded the effort to shut down the channel, showed Israeli officials entering the facility and documenting the equipment, according to The Times of Israel.
On Sunday (May 5), the Israeli government voted unanimously to close Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel, nearly six months after initially announcing its intention to do so due to security concerns related to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi promptly signed an executive order after the vote passed, immediately putting the decision into effect.
In a video statement, Karhi referred to Al Jazeera as a “Hamas incitement organ.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also took to X to announce the decision, stating, “The government under my leadership decided unanimously: The incitement channel Al Jazeera will be shut down in Israel.”
The cabinet’s decision on Sunday was based on classified opinions from the Shin Bet on April 9, which deemed Al Jazeera a national security threat. The IDF and Mossad also provided classified opinions supporting the limitation of Al Jazeera’s broadcasts in Israel.
