TIL Desk/World/Jerusalem/ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering shutting down the local offices of Arab satellite broadcaster Al-Jazeera, an official said today, following a crackdown against Qatar by Sunni countries across the region.
Saudi Arabia has been leading an effort to isolate Qatar, accusing the energy-rich Gulf state, and the Qatari-backed channel, of supporting violent Islamic groups across the Middle East.
Jordan and Saudi Arabia have closed Al-Jazeera’s local offices, while the channel and its affiliate sites have been blocked in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain.
While Israel is not formally part of that effort, the stepped-up pressure appears to have emboldened Netanyahu to look into closing down the channel’s local operations as well.
Israeli officials have long accused Al-Jazeera of bias against the Jewish state, and yesterday, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman accused it of promoting incitement and likened its coverage to “Nazi Germany-style” propaganda.
