Israel Bans the Retransmission of the Al Jazeera Channel

April 1, 2024 Hour: 2:30 pm

On Monday, the Israeli Parliament (Knesset) approved a law that temporarily prohibits the retransmission in Israel of any foreign media that “harms State security.”

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The “Al Jazeera Law” has been approved “in second and third readings with a majority of 71 votes in favor and 10 against,” the Knesset said.

“I intend to act immediately in accordance with the new law to stop the channel’s activity,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who blamed Al Jazeera for inciting against Israeli occupation forces.

The Al Jazeera Law gives the Communications Ministry the power to order content providers to end retransmission, close their offices, confiscate their equipment, and block their servers.

Video shows the moment Al Jazeera’s Ismail al-Ghoul was able to recover the body of his brother Khaled, who was killed in Israeli bombardment near al-Shifa Hospital three days ago ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/wXbhSwDsE0

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish)
April 1, 2024

The order to close a foreign news channel must be submitted for judicial review in a district court, which must decide within 72 hours whether to modify or shorten the order period.

Since the start of its offensive in October 2023, Israel has prevented international press from entering Gaza, where its occupation forces have killed over 32,800 Palestinians and injured tens of thousands of people.

Despite all kinds of difficulties, Al Jazeera has been reporting on Israeli bombings of hospitals, attacks on residential buildings, and the deaths of unarmed Gazans.

Israeli bombings have also killed Al Jazeera journalists like Hamza Wael Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuria, while correspondents such as Wael Dahdouh have lost most of their relatives.