Condemnations of Israeli ban on Al Mayadeen pour in amid solidarity
7 Min Read
Al Mayadeen's ban in occupied Palestine has been renewed by the Israeli regime yet again, amid its ongoing war crimes in Gaza and southern Lebanon.
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An illustration showing a television screen displaying Al Mayadeen's logo and an unauthorized access sign over it (Illustrated by Ali al-Hadi Shmeis; Al Mayadeen English)
Following the Israeli government's decision to renew a ban on the Al Mayadeen Network, multiple organizations and political parties expressed their support for the media network, especially for its unrelenting coverage of the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza.
Palestinian Journalists Syndicate
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate decried the measure, underlining Al Mayadeen's commitment to thwart "sedition" among this region's peoples, especially after the Majdal Shams incident.
Its Deputy Secretary, Omar Nazzal, spoke to Al Mayadeen on Sunday where he highlighted our correspondent in occupied Palestine Hanaa Mahameed's coverage of developments in the occupied Syrian Druze town of Majdal Shams.
Mahameed made her way to Majdal Shams where she covered, first hand, the developments in the town and was faced with incitement from Israeli officials, settlers, and media outlets.
The main reason for renewing the ban on Al Mayadeen, according to Nazzal, is that the channel played a significant role in challenging the occupation's plans to create internal sectarian and national strife, by accurately covering the atrocity in Majdal Shams, which led to the martyrdom of 12.
"Al Mayadeen is facing systematic targeting after renewing the ban on the channel and the assassination of its journalists Farah Omar and Rabih Me'mari on November 21," he affirmed.
Additionally, Nazzal explained that the matter goes beyond labels of freedom of expression as the Israeli occupation is systematically attacking and killing journalists all over occupied Palestine, the Gaza Strip, and southern Lebanon.
In what can only be seen as a blatant attack on freedom of speech and an effort to conceal the truth, the Israeli government approved the Telecom Minister's proposal to ban #AlMayadeen, seize its equipment, and block its websites as reported by Israeli media.
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) August 11, 2024
It is noteworthy… pic.twitter.com/ZtFi1Is4KU
Forum of Palestinian Journalists
The Forum of Palestinian Journalists strongly condemned "the Israeli occupation government's decision to continue banning Al Mayadeen Media Network, seize its equipment, and block its website."
The forum said the decision "is an acknowledgment of the network's pioneering role in exposing the Israeli genocide against the Palestinian people and of its significant presence in the media sector and impact amidst Israel's deliberate targeting of all Palestinian media outlets."
Omani Journalists Association
Omani Journalists Association President Mohammed al-Araimi said the decision "aims to obscure the truth and conceal [Israeli] crimes."
"No matter what measures the occupation takes, it cannot block out the (light of the) sun, and its actions are unsurprising given its heinous crimes," al-Araimi added.
He said that the occupation's actions confirm its strategy of dragging the region into "further tension" at a time when the Israeli regime faces a deep internal crisis.
Syndicate of Lebanese Press Editors
Meanwhile, the head of the Syndicate of Lebanese Press Editors, Joseph Qussaifi, echoed the remarks of his counterparts and said the decision "was not surprising."
He said that Al Mayadeen plays a significant role in exposing "Israel's persistent claims, lies, and crimes."
Al Mayadeen "played a distinct and effective role in its [coverage of] the events taking place in occupied Palestine," Qussaifi asserted.
Read more: IOF raid house of Al Mayadeen's bureau director in occupied Palestine
Palestinian factions voice their support for Al Mayadeen
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) expressed its full solidarity with Al Mayadeen, stressing that the Israeli decision to close the media network's offices in occupied Palestine constitutes yet another crime committed by the occupation.
The Palestinian Resistance factions said that "Israel" aims "to silence every voice that conveys the truth of its crimes against [the Palestinian] people."
Al Mayadeen has been a "truthful and serious" media organization in its coverage of the Israeli war on Gaza, a statement released by the PFLP on Sunday explained.
The Popular Resistance Committees in Palestine also released a statement condemning the Israeli decision, saying that the measure is part of the Israeli regime's "war on truth and the Palestinian narrative."
"The Zionist war targeting Al Mayadeen and its correspondents will not erase the criminal truth of the Zionist entity," the Palestinian party stressed.
The al-Mujahideen Movement also condemned the decision to ban Al Mayadeen and the measure of seizing its equipment in occupied Palestine.
"We consider this arbitrary decision a new chapter in the series of systematic crimes committed by the enemy against free and honest journalism and media," the movement said in a statement.
"This is a badge of honor and a source of pride for this Resistance channel," it added.
"It (the decision) also highlights their failure to suppress and conceal the voice and image of the truth, despite the unlimited support for the Zionist narrative by the Western media machine," the Palestinian party underlined.
"The enemy will not be able, through its repressive measures, to silence the voice of resistance and truth that Al Mayadeen represents," it concluded.
Read more: 'Israel' deliberately kills Al Mayadeen's crew in South Lebanon
Ministers, parties, organizations stand with Al Mayadeen
The Minister of Information in the Yemeni caretaker government, Dayfallah al-Shami, slammed the Israeli decision to ban Al Mayadeen, calling it a badge of honor and clear proof that the channel hurts the enemy badly.
He expressed full solidarity with the channel against the Israeli abuses against it.
Retired Lebanese Army General and Secretary-General of the Leadership Committee in the Independent Nasserist Movement, al-Murabitun, Mostafa Hamdan, said the decision "reaffirms that [Al Mayadeen] will remain at the forefront of Resistance."
"Under the leadership of Ghassan Ben Jeddou, Al Mayadeen will remain the compass for all those who believe in our right to march toward al-Quds," he added.
The founder of the Arab Nationalist Congress, Maan Bashour, wrote a message in support of Al Mayadeen in which he criticized the decision he believes violates "the most basic media rights and freedoms."
"All objective and free media play a crucial role in exposing the brutality of the apartheid regime in Tel Aviv and in highlighting the heroism of the Resistance fighters in Gaza, all of Palestine, southern Lebanon, and across all battlefronts," he wrote.
"Al Mayadeen channel, which has paid the price for fulfilling its media and national mission with blood and unjust measures, like other free media outlets, will not be intimidated by the decisions of the massacre-driven government," he affirmed.
Hamdeen Sabahi, Secretary-General of the Arab Nationalist Congress, expressed on behalf of himself and the ANC full solidarity with Al Mayadeen in the face of the decision of Netanyahu's government, highlighting “the language of intimidation it used against the network and its correspondents, which reveals that the occupier is keen on committing human massacres.”
“The Arab National Congress, which considers freedom one of its most prominent causes, the liberation of Palestine and the unity of the nation one of its most prominent goals, and resistance the main way to liberate the land and the people, sees Al Mayadeen and the role it plays as one of the most important strongholds of the struggle toward achieving these goals,” he affirmed.
