Israel has revoked the press credentials of an Al Jazeera reporter who said the work of Palestinian journalists is part of the “resistance.”
The head of the Government Press Office, Nitzan Chen, said Wednesday the comments were cause for concern over Elias Karra’s ability to objectively cover the Arab-Israeli conflict. Karra is an Arab citizen of Israel from Nazareth.
“Resistance” is commonly used by Palestinians to refer to violent and non-violent opposition to the policies of Israel’s government.
Israel’s communications minister has sought to ban Al Jazeera from broadcasting in Israel, accusing the network of inciting violence.
The move has been criticized by advocacy groups that the ban would put Israel on par with the region’s totalitarian regimes.
“Censoring Al Jazeera or closing its offices will not bring stability to the region, but it would put Israel firmly in the camp of some of the region’s worst enemies of press freedom,” Sherif Mansour, the committee’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator for The Committee to Protect Journalists told NBC News.
“Israel should abandon these undemocratic plans and allow Al Jazeera and all journalists to report freely from the country and areas it occupies.”
Al Jazeera, a pan-Arab satellite network funded by the government of Qatar, has been the target of Arab nations working to isolate Qatar over the Gulf country’s alleged ties and support of Islamic extremism. Qatar denies the allegations and is refusing calls to shut down the network.
