1/4/2024–|Last updated: 4/1/202409:19 PM (Mecca time)
The Israeli Parliament voted (The Knesset) – Today, Monday – in favor of a law allowing the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu By banning foreign media outlets that harm security in Israel, led by Al Jazeera.
This law – which was called the “Al Jazeera Law” and was approved by a majority of 70 votes to 10 – gives Netanyahu the ability to ban the broadcast of the targeted channel, up to and including closing its offices in Israel.
Today, Monday, Netanyahu called for the adoption of this law during the plenary session of the Knesset, according to a statement issued by his party Likud.
The party said – in its statement – that Netanyahu will then take immediate action to close Al Jazeera in accordance with the procedures stipulated in the law.
After the Knesset approved the law, Netanyahu said that Al Jazeera would no longer broadcast from Israel and that it was time to expel it.
Netanyahu explained that he intends to move immediately – in accordance with the new law – to stop the activity of Al Jazeera, accusing it of harming Israel’s security, and of actually participating in the October 7 attack and “inciting against our soldiers,” as he put it.
For its part, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said that although Netanyahu welcomed the “Al-Jazeera Law,” Likud was subjected to severe criticism regarding the wording of the project.
The newspaper also quoted Likud Party Knesset member Amit Halevy as saying that the law is useless and will cause harm, and that it will not prevent Al Jazeera’s audience from continuing to watch it.
Haaretz newspaper reported on behalf of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel that the “Al Jazeera Law”‘s real purpose is political, not security.
Restricting freedom of expression
In the reactions, Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the Secretary-General of the United Nations, commented on Netanyahu’s intention to close Al Jazeera’s office in Israel by saying, “This is as worrying as any restriction on journalists’ right to work.”
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said that if the reports received about Israel’s intention to close the Al Jazeera News Network office are true, this would be “deeply disturbing.”
The Financial Times also quoted Omar Shaker, an expert at Human Rights Watch, as saying that the law is a worrying escalation in Israel’s efforts to suppress critics of violations.
Shaker added that Al Jazeera is a crucial source of information in Gaza after Israel prevented the access of international journalists, and that any move to restrict Al Jazeera network represents an attack on freedom of expression, and it also limits people’s ability to know what is happening in the Gaza Strip.
In turn, Executive Director of the International Press Institute, Vrin Mirovich, said – in a statement to Al Jazeera – that Israel does not allow any journalist to enter the Gaza Strip, adding that it is not possible to understand the justifications for the Israeli decision to ban Al Jazeera.
He pointed out that Al Jazeera has the right to appeal the government’s decision, but this is not possible in Israel.
Last February, the Knesset General Assembly approved in the first reading a draft law granting the Minister of Communications the powers to prevent foreign broadcasters from harming security, as well as ordering the closure of the offices of a foreign media channel located in Israel and restricting access to its website.
According to the official Knesset website, the Knesset General Assembly approved in the first reading a draft law preventing a foreign broadcasting organization from harming Israel’s security, and the proposal received the support of 25 members of the Knesset, compared to the opposition of 4 members.