Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Incoming Israeli minister calls for expulsion of Al Jazeera

Incoming Israeli minister calls for expulsion of Al Jazeera

Far-right Itamar Ben-Gvir’s comments come as the network takes Shireen Abu Akleh’s killing to the ICC.

The far-right Israeli politician Itamar Ben-Gvir has called for the expulsion of Al Jazeera journalists from Israel, shortly after the network filed a formal request with the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate and prosecute those who killed its journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in May.

Ben-Gvir, who heads the far-right Jewish Strength Party, is expected to become Israel’s national security minister in the upcoming Israeli government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Al Jazeera is an anti-Semitic and false propaganda network working against Israel in the world,” he said on Twitter.

“They should be expelled from the country today and the anti-Israeli campaign of lies should be stopped from within Israel,” he added.

Ben-Gvir is known as a fringe far-right provocateur, who has become infamous for his statements against Palestinians, and his support for a Jewish man who killed 29 Palestinians in a 1994 massacre.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog was caught on a hot-mic last month saying that the world was “worried” about Ben-Gvir joining the Israeli government.

Al Jazeera has always rejected accusations of anti-Semitism.

Israel has been stung by international condemnation of its killing of Palestinian American Abu Akleh, a veteran reporter who had been wearing a press vest and helmet when she was shot by an Israeli soldier while reporting in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.

Having previously denied involvement in the killing, and suggesting that Palestinian fighters may have been involved, an internal Israeli investigation found in September that one of its own soldiers had likely killed Abu Akleh.

Several leading media agencies, including Al Jazeera, CNN, Associated Press, Washington Post, and the New York Times, conducted their own investigations and concluded that Abu Akleh was killed by an Israeli bullet.

Outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid told a Knesset conference on Tuesday that “nobody will investigate IDF soldiers, preach morality on warfare, and certainly not Al Jazeera,” The Times of Israel reported.

Speaking after Lapid, defence minister Benny Gantz expressed regret over Abu Akleh’s death but said the situation occurred in a “clear-cut” combat situation.

He deflected the criticism surrounding Abu Akleh’s killing by suggesting that Al Jazeera “check first what happens to journalists in Iran”.

Al Jazeera on Tuesday presented the ICC with new evidence “clearly show[ing] that Shireen and her colleagues were directly fired at by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF)” while covering an Israeli military raid in the West Bank in May.

In a statement, it said “the evidence presented to the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) confirms, without any doubt, that there was no firing in the area where Shireen was, other than the IOF shooting directly at her”.

Unlike the International Court of Justice, which handles cases between states, the ICC has the power to prosecute individuals, meaning the case will have to be aimed at specific Israeli politicians.

Al Jazeera’s lawyer Rodney Dixon KC told a news conference in The Hague on Tuesday that the request submitted to the ICC was presented “in the context of a wider attack on Al Jazeera, and journalists in Palestine”, referring to incidents such as the bombing of the network’s Gaza office on May 15, 2021.

The United States said it opposed Al Jazeera taking the killing of Abu Akleh to the ICC, which it said should focus on its “core mission” of “serving as a court of last resort in punishing and deterring atrocity crimes”.

Last month, the United States informed the Israeli authorities that it decided to open its own investigation into the killing of the dual national, several Israeli and US media outlets reported.

The scope of a US investigation, as well as what consequences could ensue, remain unclear.

The journalist’s family submitted their own request for an ICC investigation in September. “My family still doesn’t know who shot the deadly bullet,” Lina Abu Akleh, Shireen’s niece, told reporters.

Abu Akleh’s brother Anton said the family will do whatever is necessary to ensure accountability for her killing.


Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×