Israel set to revoke accreditation of Al Jazeera journalist

Israel intends to cancel an Al Jazeera journalist's press accreditation on the grounds that he is biased towards the Palesinians, the director of the government press office said on Wednesday.

Nitzan Chen said Al Jazeera correspondent Elias Karram's press card would be revoked, pending a hearing, because he told television station Dar al-Iman last year that he was actively siding with the Palestinians in his work as a reporter.

Karram is an Israeli Arab citizen from Nazareth, Chen's office said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last month he would work to close down Qatar-based Al Jazeera, accusing it of inciting violence in Jerusalem.

It added the network would "take all necessary legal measures in case they act on their threat," saying its coverage was professional and objective.

A clip from the interview Karram gave to the little-known TV station shows him saying: "A Palestinian journalist working in occupied territory ... is no different to a politician or a teacher (resisting Israel's occupation).

"The journalist is doing his part ... with the pen, radio, voice or camera. You are part of this nation and you resist in your own way."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last month that he wants to expel the Qatari broadcaster from the country, accusing it of inciting violence.

Netanyahu made the comments as tensions soared over Jerusalem's Haram al-Sharif mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount. 

At the time, Al-Jazeera condemned what it called "arbitrary accusations and hostile statements".

It added the network would "take all necessary legal measures in case they act on their threat," saying its coverage was professional and objective.

The press office's move to revoke the press card for Karram, a 40-year-old Arab Israeli, marks the first concrete actions against the broadcaster since Netanyahu's remarks.

Such a closure does not appear imminent, however, and an Israeli official said a legal process was still required to implement most of the proposed steps.

The move adds further pressure on Qatar, which has been involved in a dispute with a number of Arab countries over alleged support for Islamist militant groups, which it denies.

Al Jazeera said in July that Israel was aligning itself with the four Arab states - Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain - that have severed diplomatic and commercial ties with Qatar.

After Kara's announcement, the Foreign Press Association in Israel criticised the planned moves.

"Changing the law in order to shut down a media organisation for political reasons is a slippery slope," association executive secretary Glenys Sugarman said.

Al Jazeera has also faced government censure in Egypt. In 2014, Egypt jailed three of the network's staffers for seven years and closed its offices. Two staffers have been released but a third remains imprisoned.