The Israeli parliament passed a significant law extending the government’s power to shut down foreign broadcasters within its borders. Lawmakers voted 22 to 10 to expand temporary wartime measures, allowing the state to shutter outlets deemed national security threats.
This legislation grants the government authority to cease foreign operations for two years without requiring a specific court order. Originally known as the “Al Jazeera Law,” officials used these powers to block the Qatari-owned channel’s offices in May 2024.
Consequently, Israel accused the network of anti-Israel bias and supporting Hamas, allegations which Al Jazeera continues to deny. The network condemned the actions as a “criminal act” and an attack on press freedom.
Furthermore, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel stated the order violated “freedom of expression, the right to information and freedom of the press.”
Domestic Radio Faces Closure
The cabinet also approved a controversial plan to shut down Army Radio, a state-funded station operated by the military, as Defense Minister Israel Katz argued the station “broadcasts political and divisive content that is not in line with IDF values.”
Moreover, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu compared the military-run station to those in authoritarian regimes during the cabinet session. “I think it exists in North Korea and maybe a few other countries, and we probably don’t want to be counted among them,” he said.
However, journalist unions and think tanks view these moves as a coordinated assault on the country’s independent media landscape. The Israel Democracy Institute warned that shutting the station constitutes a serious violation of expression and a “worrying pattern of ongoing harm to Israeli democracy.” In response, the Union of Journalists announced they would petition the High Court of Justice against the “unlawful infringement.”
