On 1st April, Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Qatari-funded Al Jazeera will no longer be allowed to broadcast from Israel.
In a post on X in Hebrew, Netanyahu wrote, “Al Jazeera harmed Israel’s security, actively participated in the October 7 massacre, and incited against IDF soldiers. It is time to remove the shofar of Hamas from our country. The terrorist channel Al Jazeera will no longer broadcast from Israel. I intend to act immediately by the new law to stop the channel’s activity. I welcome the law promoted by Communications Minister Shlomo Karai with the support of coalition members led by coalition chairman Ofir Katz.” Al Jazeera is accused of publishing pro-Hamas reports.
The channel will be shut down for 45 days, and the ban can be renewed. The ban is expected to stay in force at least till the end of July or until the major military operation against Hamas in Gaza ends.
Reacting to the ban, Al Jazeera, called it an “escalation” and claimed it “comes as part of a series of systematic Israeli attacks to silence Al Jazeera.”
According to The Times of Israel, the House of representatives in Israel, Knesset, passed a law on 1st April that gave the government temporary powers to prevent foreign news networks from operating in Israel. The government can ban the channel if it believes its presence in the country harms national security. The law was passed 71 to 10 in its second and third readings.
Following the general vote, Communication Minister Shlomo Karhi said the channel would be closed soon. He assured that “Hamas mouthpieces in Israel” will not have “freedom of expression” in the country.
He said, “We have brought to fruition an effective and swift tool against those who use freedom of the press to harm Israel’s security and IDF soldiers and who incite terrorism during a time of war.”
Following the law’s passage, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre expressed concerns during a press briefing. She said, “We believe in the freedom of the press. It is critically important. The United States supports the critically important work journalists around the world do, and that includes those who are reporting on the conflict in Gaza. If those reports are true, it is concerning to us.”
Notably, there is a process that has to be followed to ban a media house from operating in the country on a temporary basis. The Security Services must present a professional position paper to the Prime Minister and the Communication Minister for approval. The paper will contain the factual foundations of the allegations against the channel. Though the Communication Minister can ban the channel, he can only do it after getting final approval from the Prime Minister and the Security Cabinet.
If a channel is ordered to shut down its operations, it has to shut the offices, and the government can confiscate the channel’s equipment. Furthermore, the channel’s website will be down if it has a local server. Otherwise, the channel’s website will be blocked in the country.
7th October terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israel
On 7th October, Hamas terrorists launched an all-out attack on Israel from sea, land, and air. At least 5,000 rockets were launched into Israel from Gaza, and tunnels were used to breach the Israeli territory and butcher Israeli civilians, particularly in the border villages. A music festival hosting more than 200 people was turned into a slaughter ground with many women raped, mutilated and abducted to Gaza. At least 1,300 people, including some foreign nationals, babies, women and senior citizens, died in the attacks. More than 200 were abducted and taken to Gaza. Following the attack, Israel launched a counterattack to eliminate Hamas. The Israel-Hamas war entered its 178th day on 2nd April 2024.
