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Netanyahu vows to ban Al Jazeera broadcasts in Israel

GreenWatch Desk World News 2024-04-02, 9:39am

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday vowed to ban Al Jazeera broadcasts inside Israel.

“The terrorist channel Al Jazeera will no longer broadcast from Israel. I intend to act immediately in accordance with the new law to stop the channel's activities,” Netanyahu said in a post on the social media platform X.
Earlier in the day, parliament passed a law allowing the government to close down foreign news outlets viewed as threatening state security, reports VOA.
The measure, which passed by a margin of 70 votes to 10, gives the prime minister and the communications minister the power to close foreign media outlets in Israel if they are believed to pose a threat to Israel’s security. Under the law, targeted outlets can also have their broadcasts banned.
SEE ALSO:Al Jazeera Decries Death of Two Journalists in Israeli Strike
Netanyahu announced earlier in the day that he would be reviving efforts to shut down the news channel in Israel.
The White House called Netanyahu’s vow to ban the channel concerning.
Doha-based Al Jazeera did not immediately reply to VOA’s request for comment.
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi has previously referred to Al Jazeera as “a propaganda mouthpiece” for the militant group Hamas and accused the Qatari outlet of exposing Israeli soldiers to potential attacks from Gaza.
Press freedom groups have condemned efforts by the Israeli government to shutter Al Jazeera in Israel.
“We are deeply concerned by Israeli officials’ threats to censor media coverage of the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict, using vague accusations of harming national morale,” Sherif Mansour, the Middle East and North Africa program coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists, said in an October 2023 statement.