Israel takes another step down the road to becoming an official rogue state:
Israeli officials seized broadcasting equipment belonging to the Associated Press on Tuesday, arguing it was used to illegally provide a live feed to Al Jazeera, whose Jerusalem bureau was shuttered by officials earlier this month following the passage of a new foreign broadcast law.
Press advocates have warned that the law creates a dangerous precedent for censoring independent news outlets in the region amid the ongoing war with Hamas.
Israeli lawmakers passed the measure last month, empowering Israel’s communications minister to take action against any foreign media network that it says poses a national security risk.
Today’s seizure has already garnered sharp criticism, with Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid calling it “an act of madness.”
AP reported that it “complies with Israel’s military censorship rules, which prohibit broadcasts of details like troops movements that could endanger soldiers.” It said the live shot “has generally shown smoke rising over the territory.”
In a statement, an AP spokesperson said the wire service “decries in the strongest terms” the actions of the Israeli government.
“The shutdown was 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,” communications executive Lauren Easton said.
There’s nothing else to say but reiterate that it is ” an act of madness.” And they do this on the day after the ICC recommends arrest warrants for Netanyahu? They clearly want to be a pariah state. It’s just mystifying.