'Israel' shuts down AP live feed, seizes equipment
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The Israeli occupation shuts down the AP's live stream of northern Gaza and seizes its broadcasting equipment citing violations of the media law.
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In this image from video, Israeli officials seize AP video equipment from an apartment block in Sderot, occupied Palestine, May 21, 2024 (AP)
The Israeli occupation forces seized Tuesday a camera and other broadcasting equipment from The Associated Press in southern occupied Palestine, putting an end to their live feed of the northern Gaza Strip.
The Israeli occupation's decision to stifle yet another media outlet in occupied Palestine comes over allegations that the AP is violating a new Israeli media law by providing images to Al Jazeera, which was banned from broadcasting from the occupied Palestinian territories.
The AP was swift to denounce the Israeli decision, as it provides live feed for thousands of clients from all over the world.
"The Associated Press decries in the strongest terms the actions of the Israeli government to shut down our longstanding live feed showing a view into Gaza and seize AP equipment," said the organization's vice president of corporate communications, Lauren Easton.
"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. We urge the Israeli authorities to return our equipment and enable us to reinstate our live feed immediately so we can continue to provide this important visual journalism to thousands of media outlets around the world."
The AP's broadcast was interrupted by officials from the Israeli Communication Ministry, wherein they arrived at their location in the Israeli Gaza envelope settlement of Sderot, handing the staff a written statement from Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi saying the broadcast was in violation of the Israeli occupation's foreign broadcaster law before confiscating their equipment.
The AP insisted in its response statement that it was complying with Israeli military censorship guidelines, not broadcasting sensitive information such as the movement of troops and other military objectives that would compromise the Israeli occupation forces, with the last thing they were broadcasting being smoke plumes rising over the Gaza Strip due to Israeli bombardment.
"In accordance with the government decision and the instruction of the communications minister, the communications ministry will continue to take whatever enforcement action is required to limit broadcasts that harm the security of the state," the Israeli occupation's ministry said.
The Israeli occupation has been clamping down on journalistic organizations just like the AP over senseless allegations, including Al Mayadeen, which was banned from operating in the Palestinian territories occupied in 1948 by the Israeli cabinet as "Israel" seeks to cover up its war crimes in Gaza through any means possible.
The Israeli war cabinet approved on November 13 regulations that would allow the occupation government to ban and shut down Al Mayadeen Media Network, which comprises a foreign channel as per the emergency regulations descriptions and broadcasts in "Israel" in three languages: Arabic, English, and Spanish.
According to the decision, Al Mayadeen is said to "harm national security."
In accordance with the emergency regulations enacted by the occupation government to prevent any foreign broadcast corporation from compromising "national security" and after the Minister of Security was convinced of the actual threat to "national security", the war cabinet approved early this morning the proposal by the Minister of Communications to shut down Al Mayadeen Media Network.
