Foreign Press Association slams decision to ban Al Jazeera: A dark day for the media

The Foreign Press Association, which represents foreign media in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, condemns the decision to shutter the Al Jazeera news network’s operations in Israel, warning that it should be a “cause for concern for all supporters of a free press.”

“With this decision, Israel joins a dubious club of authoritarian governments to ban the station. And the government may not be done. The prime minister has the authority to target other foreign media that he deems to be ‘acting against the state,'” the FPA says in a statement.

“We urge the government to reverse this harmful step and uphold its commitment to freedom of the press — including outlets whose coverage it may not like,” the organization adds. “This is a dark day for the media. This is a dark day for democracy.”