Israel extends law that banned Al Jazeera for two more years | Media News

The Israeli parliament has voted to extend the bill, which allows the shutdown of foreign media outlets, until 2027.

The Israeli parliament has approved an extension of a law which allows the shutdown of foreign media outlets over national security grounds for an additional two years.

The bill, which replaces temporary legislation passed last April, includes several amendments aimed at eliminating judicial oversight. It can now be applied even if Israel is not under a state of emergency.

In May 2024, Israel shut down Al Jazeera operations in the country, weeks after the law was passed by the Knesset.

The law gave the prime minister and communications minister the authority to order the closure of foreign networks operating in Israel and confiscate their equipment if it was believed they posed “harm to the state’s security”.

“Al Jazeera harmed Israel’s security, actively participated in the October 7 massacre, and incited against Israeli soldiers,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted on X on April 1, 2024.

“I intend to act immediately in accordance with the new law to stop the channel’s activity,” he said.

The Qatar-based network at the time accused Netanyahu of making “slanderous accusations” and said Israel’s suppression of free press “stands in contravention of international and humanitarian law”.

“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,” it said in a statement in May, 2024.

“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.”

The Al Jazeera website and television channel remain banned in Israel, under the law.

The Network has been targeted by Israel before: Netanyahu threatened to shut down its Jerusalem office in 2017, and an Israeli missile destroyed the building housing the broadcaster’s office in Gaza in 2021.

Many Al Jazeera journalists – and in several cases, their families – have been killed in Israeli attacks during its genocidal war on Gaza. Anas al-Sharif and three other Al Jazeera journalists were killed in Israeli attacks in August, and are among more than 200 Palestinian journalists killed during the two-year war.

In May 2022, Al Jazeera’s journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot dead by Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank. Israel initially denied but later admit ‘high possibility‘ its soldier killed the journalist, known for her ground reporting from the occupied Palestinian territories.