Israel Will Return Seized Associated Press Equipment After Criticism—Amid Escalating Media War

 

Smoke billows after an explosion in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel Tuesday, May 21, 2024.

KEY FACTS

In a post on X, Karhi maintained the media equipment was used to disclose the location of troops in northern Gaza and created a security risk by sharing that information with Al Jazeera “despite repeated warnings.”

Karhi added the Ministry of Defense had asked to “re-examine” the issue of broadcasts and potential risks to soldiers, so the Communications Ministry ordered the return of AP equipment “at this stage” until it gets an opinion on the security situation.

The Associated Press reported the seizure Tuesday, claiming officials from the country’s communications ministry arrived at the AP’s location in the Israeli town of Sderot with a paper claiming the AP had violated its media law.

At the time of the shutdown, the AP was broadcasting a live “general” view of northern Gaza, and claimed it was complying with the Israeli military’s rules prohibiting broadcasts of troop movements, the AP reported—The AP reported it had received a verbal order last week to cease the live feed but refused to do so.

The outlet, a wire service that distributes articles, images and videos to thousands of news outlets around the world, says Al Jazeera is one of its clients and on Tuesday, Lauren Easton, vice president of corporate communications at the AP, accused Israel of acting “not based on the content of the feed but rather an abusive use by the Israeli government of the country’s new foreign broadcaster law.”

Easton urged Israeli authorities to return the equipment and re-establish the live feed “so we can continue to provide this important visual journalism to thousands of media outlets around the world.”

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Tuesday stopped short of condemning Israel for its seizure of AP equipment, but said the White House found the reports “concerning” and will “look into it.” She also emphasized the White House’s belief that journalism is “essential” and that it’s necessary that “journalists have the ability and the right to do the job.”

KEY BACKGROUND

In April, Israel passed a new media law that allows Israeli officials to shut down any media outlet and confiscate their equipment if they are deemed to be harming Israeli national security—with Israeli officials signaling their intent to ban Al Jazeera. After the law’s passage, Israel ordered Al Jazeera to shut down, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accusing the Qatari-based broadcaster and digital outlet of being a “Hamas mouthpiece” that “harmed Israel’s security and incited against soldiers.” Al Jazeera has provided reporting critical of Israel’s military actions in Gaza and has frequently published comments and statements directly from Hamas officials. But the feud between the outlet and Israel goes back years, with Israeli officials frequently accusing Al Jazeera of biased reporting and Al Jazeera accusing the country of unfair treatment—coming to a head in 2022, when an Al Jazeera correspondent was killed during an Israeli raid.

CONTRA

Al Jazeera had previously called the Israeli government’s crackdown on its reporting a “criminal act,” accusing the country of suppressing a free press in “an effort to conceal its actions in the Gaza Strip.” The outlet says “Israel’s direct targeting and killing of journalists, arrests, intimidation and threats” will not deter its reporting.

CHIEF CRITIC

Israel’s decision to confiscate the AP’s equipment is “an act of madness,” said Israeli opposition leader and Netanyahu rival Yair Lapid, according to a translation of a post on X. “This is not Al Jazeera, this is an American media outlet that has won 53 Pulitzer Prizes.”