The National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) has condemned the decision of the Israeli occupation authorities to close Al Jazeera’s office in Jerusalem and to withdraw the accreditation of its journalists.
In a statement issued yesterday, the Committee described the Israeli decision as a flagrant violation of the freedom of opinion and expression and right to information access.
The Committee considered the decision of the Israeli occupation authorities as a dangerous precedent in the bias of the Israeli authorities towards the siege countries’ violation of this right, ignoring the demands of the international community to respect the freedom of opinion and expression and the right to information access.
The statement added that the NHRC condemned the provocative measures taken by the Israeli authorities and the foreign ministers of the siege countries at the recent Manama meeting. It also called on the international organisations and journalists’ unions to stand up to this vicious and systematic campaign targeting free media and journalists – not only Al Jazeera, but all the free, professional and independent media in the world.
The Committee affirmed that it would work with international partners to curb violations of freedom of expression by the Israeli authorities and the siege countries.
The NHRC pointed out that the decision of the Israeli occupation authorities to close the office of Al Jazeera in Jerusalem has come at a time when international human rights organisations, journalists’ unions around the world and major media gathered to condemn the demands of the siege countries and their arbitrary measures to close Al Jazeera and affiliated offices, and demand respect for freedom of expression, right to information access and protection of journalists.
The Israeli decision has come at a time when the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression condemned the attacks by the siege countries on those freedoms and considered them a flagrant violation of human rights.
The Committee noted that the decision of the Israeli occupation authorities was issued following the Doha international conference on threats facing freedom of opinion and expression held on 24 and 25 July 2017. Representatives of 200 international organisations that participated in the conference condemned the violation of freedom of opinion and expression, the demands of the siege countries that violate these freedoms and rights, and expressed solidarity with Al Jazeera.