Al Jazeera bureau, Jerusalem (Hillel Maier/TPS)
Top security agencies in Israel view Qatari-controlled network as a threat to ongoing war against Hamas.
By World Israel News Staff
The Mossad intelligence agency is reportedly pushing Israeli authorities to shutter the local branch of Qatari-controlled news station Al Jazeera, Hebrew-language media reported.
According to Kan News, the Mossad is concerned about Al Jazeera’s reporters – who frequently film sensitive military locations – as a source of potential harm to soldiers and the efficacy of the ongoing war against Hamas.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the Shin Bet internal intelligence agency, the IDF Chief of Staff, and the National Security Council all back the decision to ban the network’s presence on the ground in Israel.
Al Jazeera, which promotes a pro-Palestinian narrative in line with the Qatari government’s stances, was recently criticized by the IDF spokesman for presenting a Hamas propaganda video as fact.
The network recently aired a misleading clip pushed by Hamas without investigating the context or authenticity of the media, which claimed that the terror group had released a mother and child kidnapped from a Kibbutz to the Strip.
In reality, the video was taken the day of Hamas’ deadly incursion into Israel, and depicts the terrorists apparently choosing not to transport the kidnapped family deep into the Strip, presumably due to logistical challenges.
Al Jazeera falsely presented the video as though it depicted the release of the mother and child as a humanitarian gesture, days after being kidnapped.
The timing of the report was also notable, as it came shortly after numerous international powers criticized the terror group for taking mothers and children hostage.
“After the whole world saw its ugly and true face as a barbaric organization that executed hundreds of innocent children and women in a terrorist attack and a hideous massacre, Hamas is trying to change the truth through…publishing a propaganda video via [Al Jazeera] and its media outlets,” wrote IDF Arabic-language spokesman Avichai Adaree.
“Hamas is worse than ISIS and we will continue to deal them strong blows.”
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