The Israeli parliament on Monday passed a law allowing the government to shut down foreign news outlets viewed as threatening state security, in a move that is likely to target Qatari outlet Al Jazeera.
The vote comes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced earlier in the day that he would be reviving efforts to shut down the news channel in Israel.
After the measure is adopted, Netanyahu “will take immediate action to shut down Al Jazeera in accordance with procedure set out in the law,” a Likud Party statement said.
The law, which passed with 70 votes to 10, gives the prime minister and the communications minister the power to close foreign media outlets in Israel if they are believed to pose a threat to Israel’s security. Under the law, targeted outlets can also have their broadcasts banned.
Doha-based Al Jazeera did not immediately reply to VOA’s request for comment.
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi has previously referred to Al Jazeera as “a propaganda mouthpiece” for the militant group Hamas and accused the Qatari outlet of exposing Israeli soldiers to potential attacks from Gaza.
Press freedom groups have condemned efforts by the Israeli government to shutter Al Jazeera in Israel.
“We are deeply concerned by Israeli officials’ threats to censor media coverage of the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict, using vague accusations of harming national morale,” Sherif Mansour, the Middle East and North Africa program coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists, said in an October 2023 statement.
