By Ghita El Hafidi
Rabat – Israel’s announcement of its intention to close Al Jazeera’s office in Jerusalem has triggered a wave of criticism on social media.
After the announcement by the Israeli Ministry of Communications that it would close the office of the Qatari channel Al Jazeera in Jerusalem for “inciting violence and bias in covering the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,” Twitter has become engulfed by opposing viewpoints, with users reacting both positively and negatively to the decision.
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The social network’s users created a twitter hashtag: #Israel_closing_Al-JazeeraTv, which spread through social media immediately.
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The comments and tweets varied, as some supported the decision to close the channel’s office while others described it as an Arab-Israeli “plot” against Qatar.
Al Jazeera on the other hand published a report stating that the Israeli move came in line with the decision of the Saudi-led coalition of five Arab countries to cut all ties with Qatar, announcing that the channel would refer to justice to overturn the decision.
Other Twitter users claimed the decision was a national Qatari-Israeli evasion seeking to improve the image of the channel through the sympathy and solidarity of other Arab countries, as they are “used to love all of Israel foes.”
Al Jazeera journalists denounced the ban and asserted it was a “conspiracy between Tel Aviv and the Arab neighbors” and a part of the siege policy Qatar had been exposed to by the Saudi coalition.
Wajd Waqfi, an Al Jazeera correspondent in Washington, reacted through his own Twitter account, describing Israel’s decision as a “full attack on the freedom of press.”
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— Wajd Waqfi ??? ???? (@WajdWaqfi) August 7, 2017
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the decision of Israel communication minister Ayoub Bakra.
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— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) August 6, 2017
The announcement of the banning of the Al Jazeera came two weeks after the intense tension in Jerusalem, right after Israel began taking security measures at the Al Aqsa mosque which created outrage among Palestinians.
