Israeli authorities conducted a raid on the premises of The Associated Press, based in the southern town of Sderot, where they confiscated broadcasting equipment and a camera on Tuesday. Israeli officials justify their enforcement action, claiming infringements of the country’s recent ban on Al Jazeera, of which the AP is one among thousands of clients.
The Associated Press condemned the Israeli government’s decision emphatically, viewing it as a serious violation of their commitment to visual journalism. Lauren Easton, the Vice President of Corporate Communications at the AP lambasted the Israeli authorities stating, “The Associated Press decries in the strongest terms the actions of the Israeli government to shut down our longstanding live feed showing a view into Gaza and seize AP equipment.” She further explained that the shutdown did not relate to the content of the feed but amounted to an ill-advised use of the country’s novel foreign broadcaster law by Israeli officials. Easton called for the returned equipment and the immediate reinstatement of their live feed.
Before the Israeli Communications Ministry officials made their way into the AP premises and confiscated the broadcasting paraphernalia, which was authorized by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, the feed exhibited a generic view of northern Gaza.
The seized live shot regularly portrayed smoke billowing over the territory.
Unheeding a verbal directive given last week to terminate the live transmission, the AP chose to continue its broadcasts. The seizure of the equipment came as a subsequent enforcement action.
Utilizing the novel law, Israeli officials had already forced the Qatar-based Al Jazeera network to shutter its offices, seized their equipment, and placed a ban on their broadcasts on the 5th of May.
