Benjamin Netanyahu Vows To Shutter Al Jazeera In Israel
deadline.comLawmakers in Israel on Monday passed new legislation that allows the government to temporarily close foreign media outlets deemed to be a risk to national security.
In the wake of the Israeli parliament approving the law, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to shutter Al Jazeera, saying it “will no longer be broadcast from Israel.” Calling Al Jazeera a “terrorist channel,” Netanyahu wrote on X that he intends to “act immediately” to stop the news channel’s activity.
Responding, the Qatar-based network, which is one of the most widely viewed sources of news in the Arab world, said in part, “Al Jazeera holds the Israeli Prime Minister responsible for the safety of its staff and Network premises around the world, following his incitement and this false accusation in a disgraceful manner… Al Jazeera reiterates that such slanderous accusations will not deter us from continuing our bold and professional coverage, and reserves the right to pursue every legal step.” According to the New York Times, under the new law, if the prime minister deems a foreign media outlet to “concretely undermine” Israel’s national security, the government can temporarily close its offices, confiscate its equipment, remove it from Israeli cable and satellite TV providers and block access to any of its online platforms in Israel or owned by Israeli entities.
The BBC reported that a ban would be in place for a period of 45 days at a time, which could be renewed. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Monday urged the Israeli government not to close the Jerusalem-based bureau of Al Jazeera and to “allow the media to report freely on news events in Israel and Gaza during the current conflict.” The org’s program director in New York,
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