Al Jazeera stoppas i Israel: Jerusalemkontoret stängs

Den qatariska diplomatiska krisen 2017 började den 5 juni 2017 när flera länder abrupt bröt sina diplomatiska förbindelser med Qatar. Dessa länder inkluderade Saudiarabien, Förenande Arabemiraten, Bahrain, Jemen, Maldiverna och Egypten. Detta har fått konsekvensen att Qatars grannländer infört handelsblockader och reseförbud mot landet. Saudiarabien och andra länder har kritiserat det qatariska tv-bolaget Al-Jazeera, Qatars relationer med Iran samt anklagat Qatar för att ha finansierat terroristorganisationer. Qatar förnekar bestämt att landet stödjer terrorism och hänvisar till att landet har stöttat USA i kriget mot terror samt deltagit i den pågående militära interventionen mot Islamska Staten. USA:s president Donald Trump kritiserade initialt Qatar och tog Saudiarabiens parti. En dag senare så erbjöd dock Trump i ett telefonsamtal med den qatariska emiren Tamim bin Hamad att hjälpa parterna att lösa konflikten. Ett flertal länder, inklusive Turkiet, Ryssland och Iran har uppmanat länderna att lösa krisen genom dialog .

Al Jazeera (Arabic: الجزيرة‎‎ al-ǧazīrah, IPA: [æl dʒæˈziːrɐ], literally "The Island", though referring to the Arabian Peninsula in context), also known as JSC (Jazeera Satellite Channel), is a state-funded broadcaster in Doha, Qatar, owned by the Al Jazeera Media Network. Initially launched as an Arabic news and current-affairs satellite TV channel, Al Jazeera has since expanded into a network with several outlets, including the Internet and specialty television channels in multiple languages. Al Jazeera is a major global news organization, with 80 bureaus around the world. The original Al Jazeera channel's willingness to broadcast dissenting views, for example on call-in shows, created controversies in the Arab States of the Persian Gulf. The station gained worldwide attention following the outbreak of the war in Afghanistan, when its office there was the only channel to cover the war live. Al Jazeera is owned by the government of Qatar. Al Jazeera officials have stated that they are editorially independent from the government of Qatar. However, this assertion is disputed, and many have accused Al Jazeera of being a propaganda outlet for the Qatari government. The network is sometimes perceived to have mainly Islamist perspectives, promoting the Muslim Brotherhood, and having a pro-Sunni and an anti-Shia bias in its reporting of regional issues. It is also accused of having an anti-Western bias, although the Arab Gulf States Institute agency is funded by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who are against Al Jazeera. However, Al Jazeera insists it covers all sides of a debate; it says it presents Israel's view, Iran's view and even aired videos released by Osama bin Laden. In June 2017, the Saudi government demanded the closure of the news station as one of 13 demands made of Qatar.