The Qatar-funded news outlet, Al Jazeera, rallied on Monday against Israel's approval of a bill that would ban the news agency in the country, calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statements "lies" that compromise the safety of journalists.
"Netanyahu could not find any justifications to offer the world for his ongoing attacks on Al Jazeera and Press Freedom except to present new lies and inflammatory slanders against the Network and the rights of its employees," Al Jazeera's statement reads. Netanyahu labeled the news agency as a "terror channel," whilst Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi claimed that the outlet is a "terrorist mouthpiece."
Al Jazeera stressed further that this latest move by Israel is a continuation of attempts to silence the network, following "the assassination of its correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh, the killing of its journalists Samer AbuDaqqa and Hamza AlDahdouh, the bombing of its office in Gaza."
