Israel designates five Palestinian news outlets as ‘terrorist’ groups
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz signed a military order designating five local Palestinian online media platforms as “terrorist” organizations, alleging links to Hamas, according to local Israeli media.
The order announced by Katz on Monday targets Al Asima News, Quds Plus, Alquds Albawsala, Maraj and Maydan Alquds. He said these media were being used to incite unrest, particularly in Jerusalem.
The move comes as media observers and rights groups continue to highlight Israel’s crackdown on freedom of expression, particularly in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, said the order targets vital information sources for Palestinians, serving as their “eyes and ears, especially in Jerusalem.”
“The occupied West Bank is divided by more than a thousand gates and checkpoints, while entry into occupied East Jerusalem for most Palestinians is basically impossible – certainly not without an Israeli permit,” she said.
“These media outlets provide Palestinians with minute-by-minute updates on what is happening in Jerusalem, Israeli violations and the atmosphere. »
Odeh noted that the Israeli Defense Ministry provided “no evidence” regarding the accusations against the five media outlets.
“We have seen Israel make these kinds of accusations against Palestinian journalists in the past without merit, even accusations that have been debunked. But nevertheless, journalists have paid with their freedom or sometimes with their lives because of them.”
Nearly 300 journalists killed in Gaza
Since the start of Israel’s genocidal war against Gaza in October 2023, the government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has continued to repress Palestinian journalists and media.
Israel has barred foreign journalists from entering Gaza independently since the start of the war, allowing only a limited number of journalists integrated into its army to work in Gaza on a case-by-case basis.
Since the start of the war, almost 300 journalists and media professionals were killed by Israel in Gaza, according to Shireen.ps, a monitoring site named after the veteran Al Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abou Aklehwho was killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank in 2022.
Last month, Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karahi ordered 90 day extension of an existing ban on Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel, preventing broadcasting and Internet companies from carrying the network’s content.
In May 2024At the height of Israel’s genocidal war against Gaza, the Israeli cabinet voted to close Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel, weeks after the Israeli parliament passed a law allowing the temporary closure of foreign channels deemed a “threat to national security.”
