Blinken Says He Asked Qatar to Change Al Jazeera’s Israel Coverage: Report
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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he’d asked the Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to soften Al Jazeera’s rhetoric around Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, according to a report. Three people who attended a meeting between American Jewish community leaders and Blinken on Monday told Axios that Blinken made the request less than two weeks ago. One source said Blinken said he’d asked the Qataris to “turn down the volume on Al Jazeera's coverage because it is full of anti-Israel incitement.” The Al Jazeera Media Network is funded by the government of Qatar but it claims to enjoy editorial independence. Axios added that Blinken seemed to be referring to Al Jazeera Arabic rather than its English-language counterpart. Israel’s communications minister recently accused Al Jazeera of being a “propaganda mouthpiece” for Hamas.
