ISRAEL’S far-right government has faced widespread condemnation after shutting down the operations of Al Jazeera on Sunday.

The Qatari-owned broadcaster was one of the last remaining international media networks reporting from the war-ravaged Gaza Strip.

In a long-running feud with Al Jazeera, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that its reporters had “harmed Israel’s security and incited against soldiers.”

He claimed that the broadcaster was a “Hamas mouthpiece.”

Soon after the government’s order was issued, Al Jazeera’s offices in Israel were closed and equipment confiscated.

The website has been blocked in Israel, where the broadcaster has  also been dropped by cable and satellite TV companies.

Al Jazeera slammed the decision, saying that the accusation of threatening Israeli security was a “dangerous and ridiculous lie” and part of Israel’s “ongoing suppression of the free press.”

The broadcaster vowed to “pursue all available legal channels through international legal institutions.”

It said: “Israel’s ongoing suppression of the free press, seen as an effort to conceal its actions in the Gaza Strip, stands in contravention of international and humanitarian law.

“Israel’s direct targeting and killing of journalists, arrests, intimidation and threats will not deter Al Jazeera.”

Media North, a British-based campaign for press and broadcasting freedom, said it strongly condemned the Israeli ban on Al Jazeera.