Criticism of Israel escalated in response to the closure of Al Jazeera’s office.
According to Al Jazeera, Volker Turk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed his regret over the recent decision of the Israeli cabinet to close the Israel office and said: “Freedom of expression is one of the basic human rights.”
He further added: “We ask Israel to reconsider its decision to close Al Jazeera’s office.”
Human Rights Watch also published a statement condemning Israel’s recent action, considering this decision as imposing more severe restrictions on reports sent from the Gaza Strip. This international institution also considers the need for free and independent media to guarantee transparency and accountability.
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate also condemned the Zionist regime’s decision to close Al Jazeera’s offices in the occupied territories and demanded global support for the media.
The statement continued: “The decision to close Al Jazeera’s offices is a sign of the occupation’s intention to continue killing Palestinian people without witnesses or evidence.” In the end, the Palestinian Journalists Union asked the United Nations to intervene to support media institutions in Palestine.
Last month, the Minister of Communications of the Zionist regime, Shlomi Klohi, was in charge of the approval of a bill, according to which the activities of the Al-Jazeera network would be temporarily suspended (forty-five days) and, if necessary, the network’s equipment would be confiscated.
Now, with increasing whispers about the start of Israeli military operations in Rafah, the Zionist cabinet has voted to close the offices of this network and confiscate its property.