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25-12-2025
JERUSALEM/ DOHA: 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 social media 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.
In May 2024, Al Jazeera Media Network has condemned the Israeli government’s decision to close its operations in Israel as a “criminal act” and warned that the country’s suppression of the free press “stands in contravention of international and humanitarian law”.
“Al Jazeera Media Network strongly condemns and denounces this criminal act that violates human rights and the basic right to access of information. Al Jazeera affirms its right to continue to provide news and information to its global audiences,” the network said in a statement on Sunday.
“Israel’s ongoing suppression of the free press, seen as an effort to conceal its actions in the Gaza Strip, stands in contravention of international and humanitarian law. Israel’s direct targeting and killing of journalists, arrests, intimidation and threats will not deter Al Jazeera from its commitment to cover, whilst more than 140 Palestinian journalists have been killed since the beginning of the war on Gaza. (Al Jazeera)
