DOHA: Al Jazeera will look to pursue all possible legal action “until the end” to challenge Israel’s ban on its operations there, the TV network’s news director told this news agency in an interview.

The Qatar-based station was taken off air in Israel after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government voted on Sunday to shut it down over its coverage of the Gaza crisis.

Speaking on Monday, Al Jazeera English news director Salah Negm said the network would “follow every legal path”, adding: “If there is a possibility of challenging that decision we are going to pursue it until the end.” Under a cabinet decision which Netanyahu said was “unanimous”, Al Jazeera’s Jerusalem offices were shuttered, its equipment confiscated and its team’s accreditation pulled.

“The equipment which was confiscated, the loss that we suffered from stopping our broadcast, all of that is subject matter for legal action,” Negm said. The Israeli government on Sunday said the order was initially valid for 45 days, with the possibility of an extension.

Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2024