"Act of madness": Israeli officials seize AP equipment, cut live feed of Gaza
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Smoke billows following Israeli strikes in the northern Gaza Strip as seen from Israel's southern border, on May 16. Photo: Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua via Getty Images
Israeli officials seized broadcasting equipment belonging to the Associated Press on Tuesday, arguing it was used to provide images to Al Jazeera, whose Jerusalem bureau was shuttered earlier this month following the passage of a new foreign broadcast law.
Why it matters: Press advocates have warned that the law creates a dangerous precedent for censoring independent news outlets in the region amid the ongoing war with Hamas.
- Israeli lawmakers passed the measure last month, empowering the country's communications minister to take action against any foreign media network that it can prove poses a national security risk.
- Tuesday's seizure has already garnered sharp criticism, with Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid calling it "an act of madness."
Driving the news: Officials seized AP's equipment in the southern town of Sderot on Tuesday afternoon, arguing the global news agency had violated the new law by providing a live feed of northern Gaza to Qatar-based Al Jazeera, AP reported.
- According to the Israeli Ministry of Communications, the confiscated equipment includes a camera, tripod, live modem and two microphones.
AP reported that it "complies with Israel's military censorship rules, which prohibit broadcasts of details like troops movements that could endanger soldiers."
- "The live shot has generally shown smoke rising over the territory," it reported.
- "The Qatari satellite channel is among thousands of clients that receive live video feeds from the AP and other news organizations," it added.
- The seizure of the equipment followed a refusal by AP to adhere to an order from Israeli officials last week to cut the live feed.
What they're saying: In a statement, AP's vice president of corporate communications Lauren Easton said the wire service "decries in the strongest terms" the actions of the Israeli government.
- "The shutdown was not based on the content of the feed but rather an abusive use by the Israeli government of the country's new foreign broadcaster law," she added.
- She also urged Israeli authorities to return the company's equipment and allow the news agency to reinstate its live feed immediately.
The Israeli Ministry of Communications said that "the camera that was confiscated illegally broadcasts on the Aljazeera channel live the northern Gaza Strip, including the activities of the IDF forces," adding that it "endangers our fighters."
- The Ministry said the live feed caused "a real harm to the security of the state," and that it "will continue to carry out enforcement actions to the extent necessary."
Yes, but: "This is not Al Jazeera, this is an American media outlet that has won 53 Pulitzer Prizes," Lapid, the opposition leader, said in a statement to reporters.
- "This government behaves as if it has decided to make sure at all costs that Israel will be a pariah all over the world. They went crazy," he said in Hebrew, per an Axios translation.
- White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters the Biden administration is concerned by reports of the seizure. She said journalists need to have the right and the ability to do their job.
The big picture: It's becoming harder to access independent journalism on the ground amid the monthslong war.
- AP is one of few Western media outlets with a presence on the ground in Gaza.
- Al Jazeera was one of the largest international media outlets on the ground covering the war before the raid to shutter its Jerusalem bureau.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with comments from Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
