Netanyahu wants to expel Al-Jazeera for ‘inciting violence’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he wants to expel Qatari broadcaster Al-Jazeera from Israel amid tensions over a sensitive Jerusalem holy site.

“The Al-Jazeera channel continues to incite violence around the Temple Mount,” Netanyahu wrote in a Facebook post late Wednesday, referring to the Haram al-Sharif compound in Jerusalem, known to Jews as the Temple Mount.

“I have appealed to law enforcement agencies several times to close the Al-Jazeera office in Jerusalem. If this is not possible because of legal interpretation, I am going to seek to have the necessary legislation adopted to expel Al-Jazeera from Israel.”

Israel has regularly accused Al-Jazeera of bias in its coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Al-Jazeera condemned what it called “arbitrary accusations and hostile statements.”

It added the network would “take all necessary legal measures in case they act on their threat,” saying its coverage was professional and objective..

Netanyahu heads what is seen as the most right-wing government in Israeli history.

He has frequently criticised the news media, accusing it of seeking to undermine his government. Source: AFP