Knesset extends order allowing closure of foreign media in Israel for two years

MADRID, December 23 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Israel’s Parliament approved the bill that extends for two years the temporary order that allows Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi to suspend foreign media broadcasts in the country, even if a state of emergency is not in effect.

The Knesset approved on second and third readings a bill that eliminates the need for judicial authorization to close a media outlet and extends the emergency law known as the “Al Jazeera Law” for two years, according to the “Haaretz” newspaper.

In addition, this dissociates it from the existence of a state of emergency, unlike what happened in April 2024, when the temporary order was promulgated which closed the office in Israel of the Al Jazeera television channel – hence the name of the project -, and which allowed a month later the suspension of its broadcasts in that country.

The initiative, passed by 22 votes for and ten against – including those of nine Arab deputies, according to the Qatari channel – allows Karhi to extend the closure of Al Jazeera until the end of 2027.

It also gives him and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the power to confiscate foreign media materials if they deem it to pose a threat to state security.