Israel passes law allowing government to temporarily close Al Jazeera
Kyiv • UNN
Israel has passed a law allowing the temporary closure of foreign news channels deemed harmful to national security, and Al Jazeera is likely to be the first target.
On Monday evening, April 1, the Israeli Knesset parliament approved the so-called Al Jazeera law, which gives the government temporary authority to ban foreign news networks from operating in Israel if the security services believe they are harming national security. This is reported by The Times of Israel, according to UNN.
Details
It is noted that in the second and third readings at the Knesset plenum, the law was adopted 71 to 10.
Communications Minister Shlomo Carhi, who led the effort to pass the law, promised immediately after the final vote that the Qatar-funded Al Jazeera news channel would be shut down "in the coming days," saying that "there will be no freedom of speech" for Hamas' mouthpieces in Israel.
The new law gives the Prime Minister and the Minister of Communications the authority to order the temporary closure of foreign publications operating in Israel and confiscate their equipment if they are deemed to be "causing real damage to state security.
According to the law, any order to close a foreign news channel must be submitted within 24 hours for judicial review by the chairman of the district court, who then has to decide within three days whether they wish to change or shorten the period of the order.
The law itself was adopted as a temporary measure and will expire on July 31 or earlier if the government cancels the state of emergency.
