Israel Follows Suit to Ban Al-Jazeera Permanently

JERUSALEM, Israel – Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan and Israel finally have something the can agree on: Al-Jazeera has to go.

The pan-Arabic network, based in and funded by Qatar, is a stronghold for the Muslim Brotherhood.

At a press conference on Sunday, Israeli Communications Minister Ayoub Kara said he plans to revoke press credentials for Al-Jazeera journalists working in Israel. He has also asked satellite and cable networks to block Al-Jazeera's transmissions.

Kara, an Israeli Druze, said he would like to see legislation passed banning Al-Jazeera altogether in Israel.

"Lately, almost all countries in our region determined that Al-Jazeera supports terrorism, supports religious radicalization," Kara said. "And when we see that all these countries have determined as fact that Al-Jazeera is a tool of the Islamic State, Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran, and we are the only ones who have not determined that, then something ludicrous is happening here."

Israel's efforts to ban the Qatari-owned agency follows similar moves by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, all of which blocked its TV channel and affiliate sites. Jordan and Saudi Arabia also closed Al-Jazeera's local offices.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has long advocated banning Al-Jazeera, thanked Kara for his part in putting the plan to action.