Israel: Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, has recently declared his intention to take swift action to halt Al Jazeera’s operations in the country. This comes after the Israeli parliament passed a new law that grants senior ministers the power to shut down foreign news networks that are perceived as a security threat.
After the legislation was approved, the Prime Minister noted in a post on X, that, “Al Jazeera will no longer be broadcast from Israel. I intend to act immediately in accordance with the new law to stop the channel’s activity.” There was a long-standing effort by Netanyahu to shut down broadcasts from the Qatari-based media outlet, alleging anti-Israel bias.
The proposed law was passed with 70 votes in favour and 10 against. It grants the prime minister and the communications minister the power to shut down foreign networks operating in Israel and seize their equipment if they are deemed to be a threat to the country’s security.
Israel returned the ruling to the parliament after almost five months since it decided to stop the Lebanese outlet Al Mayadeen. The Israeli government enacted wartime restrictions with the onset of the war in October, permitting it to temporarily shut down foreign media that posed a threat to its national interests with the approval of the courts.
Despite hoping for the opposite, Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi did not shut down Al Jazeera alongside other measures taken against Qatar. Israel often attacks Al Jazeera, whose offices are in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. Shireen Abu Akleh was covering an Israeli military raid in Jenin, a West Bank town, when she was shot by Israeli forces in May 2022.
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