Khaled Yousef and Sahin Demir
23 July 2026•Update: 23 July 2026
Israeli authorities on Thursday extended the closure of the office of the Qatar television Al Jazeera in occupied East Jerusalem and banned its operations for an additional 90 days.
The daily Maariv said the extension marks the 14th time since Israel banned the channel in May 2024.
Israel barred Al Jazeera from operating inside Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories in May 2024 over its extensive coverage of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. The ban has been periodically extended since then.
Last January, Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi ordered the blocking of Al Jazeera and Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen televisions across digital platforms, TV screens and YouTube.
The ban prohibits broadcasting and internet companies, and YouTube from providing services to Al Jazeera and Al-Mayadeen inside Israel.
In May 2024, at the height of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, Tel Aviv barred Al Jazeera from operating, a decision that has been repeatedly extended over the network’s coverage of the deadly assault.
More than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 174,000 others injured in the brutal Israeli war since October 2023, which has also left the enclave in ruins. The UN estimates the cost of Gaza reconstruction at about $70 billion.
