JERUSALEM

Israel on Tuesday evening returned the broadcasting equipment that had been confiscated by the Ministry of Communications for hours from the Associated Press (AP) agency on the border of the Gaza Strip.

This action against AP was taken after the Qatar-based Al Jazeera channel obtained a broadcast from it.

However, the confiscation of the equipment highlighted fears among foreign media institutions operating in Israel about the possibility of being targeted for allegedly harming the country’s security under the controversial new media law.

The Foreign Press Association in Israel, which includes representatives of the vast majority of foreign media institutions, said: “The step taken by Israel (confiscating the agency’s equipment) is a slippery slope.”

“Israel’s record in the field of press freedom is gloomy throughout the period of the Gaza war,” the association said in a statement.

It explained: “Throughout the conflict, Israel has prevented foreign journalists from independently accessing Gaza, and now it has taken another step backward away from the democratic ideals it claims to adhere to.”

According to Israel’s public broadcaster on Wednesday, Tel Aviv decided to return AP equipment “after American pressures.”

Foreign media in Israel

Anadolu analyzes and answers eight questions related to the work of foreign media in Israel during the war:

1- Are foreign journalists allowed to cover the war from inside Gaza?

No, Israel does not allow foreign journalists to pass the crossings to the Gaza Strip.

The Foreign Press Association, in a statement on April 8, said that “barring of independent press access to a war zone for this long is unprecedented for Israel. It raises questions about what Israel does not want international journalists to see.”

“Israeli authorities have repeatedly rejected our appeals for access—in private meetings and in a Supreme Court ruling—citing a variety of security-related and logistics arguments,” the statement added.

The statement stressed that “the decision whether to be on the ground in Gaza should be up to each individual international media outlet. The blanket ban has limited the world’s ability to witness the true cost of the war to all sides.”

2- Does Tel Aviv impose restrictions on war press coverage from within Israel?

Yes, especially what is related to the movements of the Israeli army.

At the beginning of the war, the chief of censorship in the army, Brig. Gen. Kobi Mandelblit, issued a directive regarding media coverage of the war, which was updated for the eighth time on May 16.

The directive says that the media must be banned from publishing any details about the current ground operation in Gaza (since Oct. 27) “that could harm both the army and Israel’s security.”

It also emphasized that it is forbidden to broadcast visual materials that determine the locations of the (Israeli) forces in the field, and the hostages (Israeli prisoners in Gaza), including personal details, intelligence related to their location, and operational/intelligence activities being carried out to help release them.

The ban also covers details related to equipment and ammunition stocks, logistical routes, and operational maneuvers, according to the directive.

It confirmed that in the event of any journalist accompanying the army forces in Gaza, any material they intend to broadcast must be submitted to the media censor before publication.

3- What is the law that allows the closure of a foreign broadcasting body?

The Israeli Knesset approved on April 1 a bid to prevent a foreign broadcasting body from harming the security of the country.

This law is called in the media the “Al Jazeera Law” because it was primarily designed to prevent the Qatari channel from broadcasting from Israel.

The Knesset said in a statement that the law applies to cases where the prime minister is convinced that the content being broadcast on a foreign channel broadcast in Israel “causes real harm to the security of the state.”

It explained that it is the right of the minister of communications, with the approval of the prime minister and the approval of the Cabinet, to issue instructions, halt the broadcast of the foreign channel, close its offices, and remove its website in case the server on which the site is stored is located in Israel.

The statement noted that the instructions of the minister of communications mentioned are presented to the chief justice or his deputy within 24 hours, and he has the right to change these instructions or determine their duration.

4- Is the broadcast ban always under the law?

No, the law stipulates that the instructions are valid for a period of 45 days, with the possibility of extending them for a similar period.

The law will remain in effect until July 31, 2024, or until the end of the declaration of a special state of emergency on the home front, or until the end of the military operations carried out by the army as part of the war.

5- What are the channels affected by the law?

Before the final approval of the law, the Israeli authorities decided on Nov. 13 to close the offices of the Lebanese Al-Mayadeen channel on charges of “harming Israel’s security.”

On May 5, the Israeli government unanimously decided to close Al Jazeera offices, confiscate its equipment, not allow its broadcasts to be transferred via communication companies, and block its websites.

6- Are there other channels currently threatened?

No, as of Wednesday, no Israeli official has announced Tel Aviv’s intention to ban any other foreign media institutions.

7- How did foreign journalists view Israel’s confiscation of AP broadcast equipment before returning it?

The Foreign Press Association expressed concern in a statement about Israel’s confiscation of AP broadcast equipment along the Israeli border near Gaza.

This step is "the latest in a series of chilling steps by the Israeli government to stifle the media,” the association said in a statement on Tuesday.

The ministry’s move “is a slippery slope and blocks AP from providing crucial images of northern Gaza to all other media outlets around the world.”

8- Is Israel satisfied with Western media coverage?

No, Israel has always criticized major media outlets for their war coverage.

The recognition of Palestine comes as Israel continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in the enclave.

Palestine is already recognized by eight European countries: Bulgaria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Sweden, and the Greek Cypriot administration.

More than 35,700 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and nearly 80,000 others injured since last October following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.

More than seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered it to ensure that its forces do not commit acts of genocide and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio