Al Jazeera controversies and criticism

The German foreign ministry on Monday criticised Israel's decision to bar Qatar-based news channel Al Jazeera and called for the protection of press freedom.

"A free and diverse press landscape is an important cornerstone of any liberal democracy," the ministry wrote on X, formerly Twitter, adding that the move "sends the wrong signal".

An Al Jazeera journalist shot dead in the occupied West Bank earlier this month was murdered in a "war crime" by an Israeli soldier, an official Palestinian investigation concluded on May 26.

Israel plans to revoke the media credentials of Al Jazeera TV journalists, close its Jerusalem bureau and pull the Qatar-based station's broadcasts from local cable and satellite providers, Communications Minister Ayoub Kara said on Aug. 6.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said he would work to close the Jerusalem offices of al-Jazeera, accusing the Qatar-based television news network of inciting recent violence in the city.

Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera said the Twitter account for its main Arabic-language channel was temporarily "suspended" on June 17, in the latest incident at the station.

Al Jazeera America on May 6 shook up its top ranks with a new chief executive, after a week of turmoil at the U.S. channel operated by the Qatar-owned news organization.

Named CEO was Al Anstey, who has been managing director at Al-Jazeera English and prior to that headed foreign news for the British network ITN and U.S.-based CBS.