Israel clears way to shutter Al Jazeera. Netanyahu says 'terror channel' airs incitement

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war in Gaza. Neither Qatar nor the broadcaster immediately commented. Israel has long had a rocky relationship with Al Jazeera, accusing it of unfair bias against Israel.

Relations took a major downturn nearly two years ago when Al Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh was killed during an Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian-American journalist was well-known across the Arab world for her critical coverage of Israel, and the channel accused Israel of intentionally killing her. Israel denied the charge, saying she was likely killed by Israeli fire in what appeared to be an accidental shooting.

Those relations further deteriorated following the outbreak of Israel’s war against Hamas on Oct. 7, when the militant group carried out a cross-border attack in southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage. In December, an Israeli strike killed an Al Jazeera cameraman as he reported on the war in southern Gaza.

The channel’s bureau chief in Gaza, Wael Dahdouh, was injured in the same attack. The network also blamed Israel for killing Dahdouh’s son in a strike in January. Hamza Dahdouh was working for Al Jazeera when the strike hit a car he was traveling, it reported.

The army later said that Hamza Dahdouh was a member of Islamic Jihad, a militant group that joined the Oct. 7 attack with Hamas. Wael Dahdouh’s wife, daughter and another son were killed along with his grandson in another Israeli strike last October.

The channel broadcast images of Dahdouh entering the hospital and giving way to grief as he peered over the body of his dead son. Israel has not said who the target of that strike was. Al Jazeera is one of the few international media outlets to remain in Gaza