Israel reverses decision to shut down Associated Press live footage

Israeli officials have reversed a decision to seize journalism equipment from the Associated Press on Tuesday in a move that had initially been widely criticized.

The AP had been sharing its broadcast feed of northern Gaza with al Jazeera, as it does with thousands of other news outlets across the globe, but the Israeli government recently closed the outlet’s broadcaster operations earlier this month after passing a new law, citing national security concerns.

Al Jazeera is a Qatari news outlet, and Israeli leaders have long accused the publication of bias against the country. Israel closed the news outlet’s offices earlier this month.

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi initially announced the move, only to renege hours later. He said the Israeli Ministry of Defense would “re-examine the matter of broadcasts from sensitive locations and their effect on the risk of our forces” and added that “in light of this, the Communications Minister ordered that the equipment be returned to the AP agency at this stage, until the security opinion is received and the issue re-examined.”