05-21-2024, 08:44 PM
Israeli officials seized equipment from the Associated Press and shut down its long-standing video feed of northern Gaza on Tuesday, saying the wire service ran afoul of a new foreign press law that the Israeli government used to ban Al Jazeera.
The move was quickly denounced by free press advocates, who portrayed it as an escalation of an effort to restrict coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.
But hours later — amid mounting criticism and direct entreaties from the White House — Israeli officials seemed to reverse course. Israel’s Minister of Communications Shlomo Karhi said in a statement that the country’s defense ministry wanted to look into the security risk posed by the broadcasts, and in the meantime, Karhi has “ordered to cancel the operation and return the equipment.”
It was not clear if this also meant AP could resume its live feed; spokespeople for AP and Karhi did not immediately return the Post’s inquiries...
The move was quickly denounced by free press advocates, who portrayed it as an escalation of an effort to restrict coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.
But hours later — amid mounting criticism and direct entreaties from the White House — Israeli officials seemed to reverse course. Israel’s Minister of Communications Shlomo Karhi said in a statement that the country’s defense ministry wanted to look into the security risk posed by the broadcasts, and in the meantime, Karhi has “ordered to cancel the operation and return the equipment.”
It was not clear if this also meant AP could resume its live feed; spokespeople for AP and Karhi did not immediately return the Post’s inquiries...