Israel to revoke press cards of Al Jazeera reporters

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered to revoke the credentials of all Al Jazeera reporters in Israel and reiterated his intention to shut down the news bureau of the Qatari news network, the Government Press Office confirmed Thursday.

The press office said that Netanyahu instructed to cancel the participation of Al Jazeera local office director, Walid al-Omri, in its seminar about freedom of the press.

"At the same time, the Prime Minister instructed that legal steps be taken to deny the press cards of all Al Jazeera journalists working in Israel and to close their offices in Israel," said the press office.

On August 30, the press office said it would not revoke the credential of an Al Jazeera reporter, Elias Karram, after holding a hearing over his alleged support of Palestinian "resistance."

Karram was called for the hearing after a television interview he gave in 2016 had surfaced. In the interview, he said "as a Palestinian journalist in an occupied area or in a conflict zone, media work is an integral part of the resistance and its educational political activity."

Karram was summoned for the hearing at the request of Israel's Communications Minister Ayoob Kara, who asked the Government Press Office to revoke the press cards of Al Jazeera personnel in Israel on the grounds that the network was "inciting and agitating violence in a way that harmed the security of the state."

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)