New Delhi: The Israeli parliament, Knesset, has passed a law that gives the government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the power to ban, among other television channels, the news outlet Al Jazeera which has been bringing ground reports on the daily realities of the Israeli strike on Gaza.
Prime Minister Netanyahu posted on X saying that he would “act immediately” to close the network’s local office. The auto-translation of his Hebrew post runs thus:
Al Jazeera harmed Israel’s security, actively participated in the October 7 massacre, and incited against IDF soldiers. It is time to remove the shofar of Hamas from our country.
The terrorist channel Al Jazeera will no longer broadcast from Israel. I intend to act immediately in accordance with the new law to stop the channel’s activity.
I welcome the law promoted by Communications Minister Shlomo Karai with the support of coalition members led by coalition chairman Ofir Katz.
Al Jazeera has been instrumental in bringing news from the besieged Palestinian area because foreign journalists are banned from entering Gaza.
“Al Jazeera staff based in the strip have been some of the only reporters able to cover the war on the ground,” the BBC noted. Some of them have undergone injuries and grave personal losses while covering the war.
Among them is Wael Al-Dahdouh, who is a bureau chief in Gaza, and who lost several members of his family – including his children – in the air strikes, working throughout. Al Jazeera has accused the Israeli government of targeting and killing Al-Dahdouh’s journalist son Hamza Al-Dahdouh.
The Knesset’s bill will allow the government to ban, for 45 days at a time, any foreign network which is considered a threat to national security. The ban can be renewed.
The law would stay in force until July or until the end of significant fighting in Gaza, BBC reported.
The Al Jazeera Media Network has issued a statement saying Netanyahu’s comments against the news organisation are “lies” and has held him responsible for the safety of its staff around the world. It added:
“Netanyahu could not find any justifications to offer the world for his ongoing attacks on Al Jazeera and press freedom except to present new lies and inflammatory slanders against the Network and the rights of its employees…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 is headquartered in Qatar.
Israel has previously banned a smaller Lebanese channel, Al Mayadeen, BBC additionally reported.
The US has said that the reports are concerning. The US has continued to transfer arms to Israel, through its strikes, and gives $ 3.8 billion in annual military assistance to it.
“We believe in the freedom of the press. It is critically important. The United States supports the critically important work journalists around the world do, and that includes those who are reporting on the conflict in Gaza. If those reports are true, it is concerning to us,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, according to The Times of Israel.
