Extremist Israeli minister Ben-Gvir calls for people watching Al-Jazeera to be reported

Israel’s extreme-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has called for anyone watching Al-Jazeera to be reported to the police, urging action against them.

The minister said anyone who watches the Qatari-based outlet poses a "threat" to the country’s national security.

In a televised statement, Ben-Gvir said that Israelis should inform the police on anyone they see watching Al-Jazeera.

"We will not allow Al-Jazeera to broadcast from Israel. I call upon everyone who watches Al-Jazeera, all citizens, to be reported to the police. Shabak (the Israeli security agency) is dealing with this matter. Al-Jazeera poses a threat to state security," he said.

The remarks have been lambasted online, with many activists and commentators taking to social media to accuse Ben-Gvir of cracking down on democracy, the spread of information, and show that Israel is scrambling to conceal atrocities carried out in Gaza.

"Banning news, jailing viewers—this is fascism, not freedom. Democracy? Dead," one social media user wrote on X.

"I strongly condemn Ben-Gvir's dangerous rhetoric. Al Jazeera provides critical, balanced reporting, amplifying voices often silenced in conflicts. Labelling it a 'threat' is an attack on press freedom and an attempt to suppress truth. Calling for police action against viewers is authoritarian and violates basic rights. Journalism isn’t a crime—stifling it is," another wrote.

Targeting of Al-Jazeera

Under Israel's so-called "Al Jazeera Law", the government has the power to ban foreign media outlets it deems a threat to national security for periods of 45 days at a time.

The law has previously been used to temporarily seize equipment from The Associated Press, raising serious concerns over press freedom and media censorship.

The comments from Ben-Gvir come after Israel earlier this year issued a ban on Al-Jazeera journalists and staff working within its borders.

Al-Jazeera’s coverage has also been interrupted by the Palestinian Authority, which issued a ban in January following tensions in the occupied West Bank, accusing it of broadcasting "inciting content".

Last year, Israel closed and ransacked the Al-Jazeera bureau in Ramallah, forcing all of the staff outside. Despite the office being in an area under Palestinian control, Israeli forces seized equipment and closed off the office.

The Israeli military has also launched repeated attacks and targeted journalists from the network in Gaza.

Al-Jazeera's correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul was killed in July last year along with his cameraman Rami al-Rifi, while other reporters, including Ismail Abu Omar and his cameraman, Ahmed Matar, were wounded in an Israeli attack on Rafah in February last year.

At the time, Al-Jazeera issued a statement calling the killings a "targeted assassination" by Israeli forces, with the network vowing to "pursue all legal actions to prosecute the perpetrators of these crimes".

Al-Jazeera’s bureau chief, Wael al-Dahdouh was also wounded in December 2023, while several members of his family, including his children and wife, were killed in Israeli attacks.