Al Jazeera "deplores" Israel's decision to close the broadcaster's offices in the Jewish state and will pursue the matter through legal channels, an official at the Doha-based news channel said on Sunday.
"Al Jazeera deplores this action from a state that is called the only democratic state in the Middle East and considers what it has done is dangerous," said the official who declined to be named.
He said the broadcaster "will follow up the subject through appropriate legal and judicial procedures".
Israeli Communications Minister Ayoob Kara announced the plan to close Al Jazeera at a Jerusalem news conference.
Saudi Arabia leads four Arab countries, including Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, which broke ties with Doha in June, accusing it of fostering extremism and who later demanded Al-Jazeera's closure. Doha denies the allegations.
"Al-Jazeera is surprised by the announcement of the Israeli minister of communications in his justification that the decision is consistent with what has been done by Arab countries... namely Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Egypt," the official told AFP in Doha.
The official defended Al Jazeera's coverage of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, saying it is "professional and objective" and gives both sides of events.
He said Al Jazeera would issue a formal statement in the next few hours.
Israel has regularly accused the Doha-based broadcaster of bias in its coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads what is seen as the most right-wing government in Israeli history.
He has frequently criticised the news media, accusing outlets of seeking to undermine his government.
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