Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Government Press Office (GPO) to remove al-Jazeera’s Jerusalem bureau chief Walid al-Omari from a state-sponsored seminar on freedom of speech planned for Thursday Haaretz reported.
“The prime minister instructed that legal steps be taken to deny press passes of all al-Jazeera journalists working in Israel and to close their offices in Israel” the GPO announced in a Facebook post.
Minister of Communications Ayoub Kara explained on Thursday morning Netanyahu’s decision not to allow Walid Al-Omari director of al-Jazeera in Israel to participate in a seminar organized by the Government Press Office entitled “The Limits of Freedom of Expression: The Dilemma between State Security and Freedom of the Press: Al-Jazeera TV as a Case Study.”
Interviewed by Israel public radio Kara said “Al-Jazeera is not on the border of freedom of expression but has crossed it long ago in the direction of our enemies.” The Likud lawmaker added “This insolent Walid al-Omari the director of al-Jazeera talks about freedom of expression but does everything to create resistance terrorism.”
Last month the GPO announced its intentions to revoke the press accreditation of an Israeli al-Jazeera correspondent over comments he made on another TV network last year.
The GPO cited an interview Karram gave on a TV network identified with the Muslim Brotherhood in which he said his journalistic work is part of his contribution to Palestinian resistance to the Israeli occupation.
The Union of Journalists in Israel blasted the GPO’s intention to revoke Karram’s press permit calling it an “intolerable move in a democracy.”
Earlier this summer senior Foreign Ministry officials warned at a National Security Council meeting that imposing sanctions on al-Jazeera would damage Israel’s image overseas.
