Israeli Knesset advances bill allowing gov’t to shut foreign media outlets without court approval

JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL

The Israeli Knesset approved in a preliminary reading on Monday a bill allowing the government to shut down foreign media outlets without prior judicial approval.

The bill would turn what is known as the “Al Jazeera Law”— currently a temporary measure allowing Israel to close foreign media for a limited period — into permanent legislation, Israel’s Haaretz daily reported.

“The temporary measure has expired, and therefore, the new law must be passed quickly,” Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi told the Knesset plenary session.

The bill passed by 50 votes in favor and 41 against out of 120 members of the Knesset. It will still require three readings to become law.

Proposed by Likud lawmaker Ariel Kallner, the bill allows the government to permanently shut down foreign media outlets regardless of whether Israel is in a state of emergency or war.

In April 2024, the Knesset passed a law authorizing the prime minister and communications minister to ban foreign media deemed to “harm Israel’s security.”

The law—dubbed the “Al Jazeera Law”—was originally designed to halt broadcasts by the Qatari news network Al Jazeera, though it applies to all foreign outlets.

During discussions in the Knesset National Security Committee last July, the committee’s legal adviser Miri Frankel-Shor warned that Kallner’s proposed amendment—particularly the removal of judicial oversight—raises legal concerns that could reach the level of unconstitutionality, urging the committee not to approve it.

She added at the time that judicial review is a critical stage in the chain of approvals, allowing all parties to present their positions.

Frankel-Shor stressed that the temporary measure seeks to balance between freedom of expression for foreign media, the public’s right to know, and state security during wartime.

Under the law passed last year, which authorized the closure of Al Jazeera’s bureau in Israel, any order to suspend a media outlet must be reviewed by a judge, who may adjust the order’s duration.

Haaretz noted that the law grants the communications minister, with the prime minister’s approval, the power to halt broadcasts by a foreign channel if the prime minister determines that its content “directly threatens the country's security.”

Such an order remains valid for up to 90 days, and the law applies only until the end of a declared internal emergency or the conclusion of major military operations.

The Qatari channel Al Jazeera has provided extensive coverage of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza ongoing since October 2023 and continuing for two years.