Netanyahu announces closure of Al Jazeera network in Israel

Netanyahu indicated that the decision was unanimously adopted by the Israeli War Cabinet and the Communications Minister. Shlomo KarhiThe order has already been signed in accordance with a law approved by the Israeli parliament in April, which restricts the activities of foreign media deemed hostile to the country for at least 45 days, which can be extended.

“Too much time has passed and too many unnecessary legal obstacles have been created to stop Al Jazeera’s well-oiled machine from violating state security,” Karhi said in a video posted on his X social network account. “

Karhi now has the authority to order Israel’s television providers to stop broadcasting Al Jazeera, order the closure of the channel’s Israeli offices, seize the channel’s equipment, possibly including mobile phones, and block access to the website. .

“Hamas propaganda channels, those who incite violence against Israel, those who harm Israel’s security and military personnel will no longer broadcast from Israel and their equipment will be confiscated,” the minister said.

media law

The media law approved by the Knesset in April remains in force, but its legality is being studied by the High Court of Israel, the highest judicial instance in the country, at the request of the Association for Civil Rights of Israel, which considers the rules of expression. As an attack on freedom.

The Israeli government has until May 15 to submit an initial response to the court over the law, which has an expiration date of July 31, so Netanyahu would have to extend the rules if he is not able to shut down the chain’s operations by then. Are .

It should be remembered that at the beginning of the war with Hamas, in October last year, the Israeli government approved a special emergency law that enabled it to automatically suspend the activities of the series. However, as the ‘Jerusalem Post’ newspaper recalls, the executive ultimately did not take this decision due to the fact that Al Jazeera is funded by Qatar, a country that acted as mediator in the ceasefire talks with Hamas. Does.