The Israeli government’s plans to block broadcasts of the Al Jazeera television news network in the country has drawn criticism from Germany’s Foreign Office.
The move came after Israeli lawmakers approved a new media law – widely referred to as the “Al Jazeera law” – that gives the government powers to ban foreign broadcasters if they are deemed a risk to state security.
“We take note of the new Israeli media law with concern,” a German Foreign Office spokesman told DPA on Tuesday. “A free and diverse press landscape is the cornerstone of a liberal democracy.”
The Israeli government has accused Al Jazeera, which is based in the Gulf emirate of Qatar, of biased reporting on Israel’s ongoing war in the Gaza Strip and has vowed to shut down its operations in the country.
Al Jazeera has rejected accusations of bias, accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of spreading “new lies and inflammatory slanders” against the network.
Since the beginning of the Gaza war, Al Jazeera has reported extensively on the catastrophic situation in the Gaza Strip and shown images of death and destruction that are rarely seen on Israeli television stations.
It also regularly shows videos of the military arm of Hamas, the Qassam Brigades, often of attacks on Israeli soldiers, and has accused the Israeli military of deliberately targeting journalists on several occasions since the outbreak of the Gaza war.
