Al Jazeera: What is Al Jazeera and why has Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu shut down its operations?

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed the station’s broadcasts have put Israeli soldiers in danger.

What is Al Jazeera?

Based in Qatar, the news broadcaster launched in 1996, following the closure of the first BBC Arabic language television station.

It operates an Arabic language station, as well as a 24-hour English language news broadcast, which was set up in 2003. It also has a Balkans channel, where it broadcasts in Serbo-Croatian. It is part-funded by the Qatari government, but is a private company.

What did Mr Netanyahu say and why does he want to ban Al Jazeera?

Al Jazeera has angered Mr Netanyahu by broadcasting statements in full by Hamas. It has maintained 24-hour coverage in the Gaza Strip throughout the conflict, in which some of its own staff have been killed or injured.

“Al Jazeera reporters harmed Israel’s security and incited against soldiers,” Mr Netanyahu said in a statement. “It’s time to remove the Hamas mouthpiece from our country.”

When and where does the ban come into force?

The order, which includes confiscating broadcast equipment, preventing the broadcast of the channel’s reports and blocking its websites, allows Israel to block the channel from operating in the country for 45 days.

Police raided the Qatari broadcaster's office at the Ambassador hotel in Jerusalem on Sunday and seized equipment. It is believed to be the first time Israel has ever shut a foreign news outlet, although it has taken action against individual reporters over the decades since its founding in 1948.

The order came into force immediately, with the channel shut down and a message displayed, stating “In accordance with the government decision, Al Jazeera channel broadcasts have been suspended in Israel”.

The ban did not appear to affect the channel’s operations in the occupied West Bank or Gaza Strip, where Israel wields control, but which are not sovereign Israeli territory.

How has Al Jazeera responded?

Immediately after the announcement, Al Jazeera’s English arm began broadcasting a pre-recorded message from one of its correspondents from a hotel the channel has used for months in east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians hope to one day have for their future state.

“They’re also banning any devices, that includes my mobile phone,” correspondent Imran Khan said. “If I use that to do any kind of newsgathering, then the Israelis can simply confiscate it.”

Al Jazeera issued a statement saying it would “pursue all available legal channels through international legal institutions in its quest to protect both its rights and journalists, as well as the public’s right to information”.

“Israel’s ongoing suppression of the free press, seen as an effort to conceal its actions in the Gaza Strip, stands in contravention of international and humanitarian law,” the network said.

“Israel’s direct targeting and killing of journalists, arrests, intimidation and threats will not deter Al Jazeera from its commitment to cover, whilst more than 140 Palestinian journalists have been killed since the beginning of the war on Gaza.”