White House says Israel’s seizure of AP camera is ‘concerning’

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Tuesday said the White House was “looking into” reports that Israeli officials seized a camera and broadcasting equipment from The Associated Press in southern Israel.

“Obviously, this is concerning. And so we want to look into it. But we’ve always been clear the importance of the work that you all do, the work that journalists do,” Jean-Pierre told reporters traveling on Air Force One with the president Tuesday morning.

Jean-Pierre declined to condemn the move when asked to do so. She said she wanted to be “mindful” but reiterated the importance of journalism and the essential role it plays in a democracy.

“We stand firm in our belief in making sure that journalists have the ability and the right to do the job,” Jean-Pierre said.

Israeli officials said they shut down an AP camera feed showing Gaza because it was in violation of the country’s new foreign broadcaster law. Since the conflict between Israel and Hamas started last year, the Israeli government has taken actions to restrict the media, including closing the local offices of Al Jazeera. Journalists have also criticized Israel for tightly controlling media access to Gaza.

Israel’s application of the new media law adds yet another wrinkle to the increasingly fraught relationship between the White House and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. President Joe Biden has grown frustrated with the prime minister’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, going so far as to condition specific U.S. military aid as Netanyahu contemplates a large-scale invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

In a statement, Lauren Easton, the AP’s vice president of corporate communications, said the news organization “decries in the strongest terms the actions of the Israeli government to shut down our longstanding live feed showing a view into Gaza and seize AP equipment.”

“The shutdown was not based on the content of the feed but rather an abusive use by the Israeli government of the country’s new foreign broadcaster law. We urge the Israeli authorities to return our equipment and enable us to reinstate our live feed immediately so we can continue to provide this important visual journalism to thousands of media outlets around the world.”