BEIRUT- The government of the Israeli occupation entity has approved the proposal of the Zionist Minister of Communications, Shlomo Karhi, which stipulates the banning of the Al-Mayadeen media network - screen and electronic platforms - and the confiscation of the equipment of its correspondents, in addition to blocking its websites in Arabic, Spanish and English.

The arbitrary decision is read as an Israeli acknowledgment of Al-Mayadeen's success in exposing the occupation’s fabrications to the world, and providing the Palestinian people a space to freely express their grievances.

It is noteworthy that the approval of the decision now specifically came after Al-Mayadeen covered the “Majdal Shams” massacre exposing the lies and fabrications of the pro-Israel media.

According to the Israeli media, the minister worked on “issuing a new decision by the government” after obtaining a “professional opinion” from security agencies and the approval of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Indeed, this arbitrary decision is linked to Al-Mayadeen’s brave coverage of the “Al-Aqsa Flood” epic since October 7, 2023.

Last November, the Israeli “Security Cabinet” approved a ban on Mayadeen in the occupied Palestinian territories following a joint statement by Communications Minister Shlomo Karai, on the grounds that Al-Mayadeen harms “Israel’s security,” and an attempt to prevent it from broadcasting what war minister Yoav Galant described as “dangerous propaganda”.

In the same month, Hanaa Mahameed, Al-Mayadeen’s correspondent in occupied Jerusalem (al-Quds), was threatened by settler gangs as part of a systematic campaign of intimidation against the media network.

At the end of October 2023, Israeli occupation forces also stormed the home of Al-Mayadeen’s office director in occupied Palestine, Nasser Al-Lahham, in Bethlehem. They searched the rooms, intimidated his wife, and temporarily arrested his two sons, Basil and Basil, who were beaten with rifle butts.

Even guests on Al-Mayadeen’s programs had their share of Israeli hostility, as occupation forces surrounded the home of Jamal Huwail, a professor of international relations at the Arab American University, who received a threat from Israeli intelligence while speaking live on air.

In southern Lebanon, while Al-Mayadeen’s team was covering the Israeli attacks on the Lebanese-Palestinian border, on November 12, an Israeli drone pursued the channel’s broadcast vehicle.

In the same month, Israeli occupation drones targeted Al-Mayadeen correspondent Farah Omar and photographer Rabie Al-Maamari while they were covering the aggression against South Lebanon, leading to their martyrdom.

Ali Mortada, Al-Mayadeen correspondent in southern Lebanon, commented at the moment of their martyrdom: “We [Al-Mayadeen] will not leave the media arena even if we are all killed.”

In turn, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Al-Mayadeen Media Network, Ghassan Ben Jeddou, mourned the martyrs Farah Omar and photographer Rabie Al-Maamari, saying:

"It is natural to grieve for this deep and gaping wound that has afflicted us due to the loss of our two brothers [Farah Omar and Rabie Al-Maamari]. It is natural to scream in the face of this treacherous and cowardly occupation. At the same time and as a media outlet, we are; nevertheless, proud to annoy this occupation. We are proud that Al-Mayadeen has become the sworn enemy of the occupation in the Arab and Islamic regions.”

Then, Ben Jeddou revealed to the Lebanese Al-Nour Radio Station that the Israeli enemy - following the Battle of Saif Al-Quds – tried to lure him to one of a “friendly, not allied” country, as Ben Jeddou literally stated, with the aim of kidnapping him.  Ben Jeddou also revealed that in 2017, while he was in one of the Persian Gulf countries, he received a suspicious letter from the US administration.  The letter acknowledges that Al-Mayadeen is considered the third media outlet “free from the Israeli-American control” that has highly influenced the Arab public opinion in the current century.”

Chairman of the Board of Directors of Al-Mayadeen Media Network, Ghassan bin Jiddo, also revealed that a Persian Gulf official “from a friendly country” told him that “Al-Mayadeen has crossed 3 US-Israeli red lines; the 4th red line that concerns us directly in the Arab world, specifically in the (Persian) Gulf states, is Al-Mayadeen’s success in exporting Shiite culture to the Arab public opinion; We will not allow this red line to be crossed.”

When bin Jiddo categorically denied that the channel promotes Shiite culture, the Persian Gulf official explained that “Al-Mayadeen’s discourse is not purely Shiite, but rather greatly serves the culture of the axis of resistance, which is why Al-Mayadeen has become a problem.”

It is worth noting that Al-Mayadeen has been established directly after the seditious events falsely called the “Arab Spring,” as many professional and loyal journalists refused to be involved in inciting sedition among Muslims, as some major channels unfortunately did.
Chairman of the Board of Directors of Al-Mayadeen Media Network, Ghassan bin Jiddo, has previously pointed out that the Israeli ban is linked to “the insistence and desire of two Arab countries; one of them is a Persian Gulf state as the number of Al-Mayadeen’s viewers has exceeded 50 million Arabs, including more than 5 million Arabs in the US, and this is an indication of its influence in the Arab world and beyond.”

Al Mayadeen has never backed down and has clearly chosen to defend the just causes of humanity with a professional conscience and journalistic craftsmanship, alongside military resistance. “Al-Mayadeen is not made up of a building, walls, offices or cameras. In depth, it is an idea, a vision, a culture, a choice. It is an Arab, international, humanitarian media project,” as the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Ghassan Ben Jeddou, puts it.