Israel piles on pressure to close down Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera is facing calls from Israel to shutdown its operations after its media credentials were revoked and its office in Jerusalem closed down.

During a press conference, the country’s communication, Ayoub Kara announced, “We have based our decision on the move by Sunni Arab states to close the Al Jazeera offices and prohibiting their work. I will go through the [legislatorial] mechanism to create the authority in which I can act freely. We will try to end it as quickly as possible.”

Kara accused the channel of being used by certain groups to “incite” violence, which has been categorically denied by the broadcaster.

In a statement published by Al Jazeera on its website, the network said, “Al Jazeera stresses that it will closely watch the developments that may result from the Israeli decision and will take the necessary legal measures towards it.”

“Al Jazeera will continue to cover the events of the occupied Palestinian territories professionally and accurately, according to the standards set by international agencies, such as the UK Office of Communications (Ofcom).”

Media credentials for journalists reporting on both Al Jazeera English and Arabic have been affected.