Germany says Israel’s decision to shutter Al Jazeera’s operations sends ‘wrong signal’

Police raid the Al Jazeera offices in East Jerusalem on May 5, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Police raid the Al Jazeera offices in East Jerusalem on May 5, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The German foreign ministry criticizes Israel’s decision to shutter Qatar-based news channel Al Jazeera’s operations in the country, and calls for the protection of press freedom.

“A free and diverse press landscape is an important cornerstone of any liberal democracy,” the ministry writes on X, formerly Twitter, adding that the move “sends the wrong signal.”

Police seized Al Jazeera’s broadcasting equipment from its Jerusalem offices on Sunday afternoon and the Qatari news channel was pulled off the air in Israel, immediately after the government approved a decision to temporarily shutter the outlet on the grounds that it has harmed national security.

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