Harsh measures against journalists from the Al Jazeera TV news network announced by Israel yesterday are unacceptable, the Doha Centre for Media Freedom said. An Israeli official, who asked not to be named, said employees of the network would not have their visas renewed. The measures were the result of recent decisions by Qatar, he added. Qatar has no formal diplomatic relations with Israel but until January it had a trade representation office, headed by two Israeli diplomats, on its territory. After the Israeli military offensive that left more than 1,300 people dead in the Gaza Strip, Qatar decided to suspend the arrangement and ordered the closure of the Doha office. The Doha Centre said: “After keeping the international media away from the tragic events in Gaza, Israel is now planning to punish foreign media on its territory according to the diplomatic choices of their countries of origin. This is an unacceptable amalgam of two unrelated issues.” http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=February2009&file=Local_News2009020545559.xml

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