Netanyahu threatens to expel Al-Jazeera for inciting violence at Temple Mount

For the second time in several weeks, Netanyahu is threatening to expel Al-Jazeera from Israel, saying the network has been inciting violence.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has issued a renewed threat to shut down Al-Jazeera’s Israel bureau in the wake of the Qatari network’s coverage of the Temple Mount standoff.

“The Al-Jazeera network does not cease to foment violence over the Temple Mount,” Netanyahu said in a Facebook post. “I have asked law enforcement agencies on several occasions to shut down Al-Jazeera’s offices in Jerusalem. If this is does not happen as a result of legal interpretations, I will enact the requisite legislation to expel Al-Jazeera from Israel.”

Netanyahu made similar threats to close down the network in June shortly after several Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia shut down Al-Jazeera offices as part of a wider move against Qatar due its ties with Iran and support for the Muslim Brotherhood. They later demanded closure of the broadcaster as part of a list of 13 demands put to Qatar over allegations of support for terrorism.

No comment was available from Al-Jazeera, but Walid al-Omari, the network’s Jerusalem bureau chief told TPS in June that it would appeal to the High Court of Justice to block any attempt to shut down the bureau.

By: TPS