The Israeli parliament has passed a law that gives the government powers to remove international broadcasters from the country.
It gives government the power to halt any relay over local cable, satellite and IPTV networks, bar access to its website, close local offices and confiscate any equipment.
The ban would be in place for a period of 45 days at a time, when it could be renewed for a further period. The law would remain in force until July or until fighting in Gaza subsided.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would “act immediately” to close Al Jazeera’s local office.
In a post on X/Twitter, Netanyahu said the network had “harmed Israel’s security, taken part in the October 7 massacre, incited against Israeli soldiers”.
“The time has come to remove Hamas’s mouthpiece from our country,” he wrote. “The terror channel Al Jazeera will no longer broadcast from Israel.”
In response, Al Jazeera said: “Netanyahu could not find any justifications to offer the world for his ongoing attacks on Al Jazeera and press freedom except to present new lies and inflammatory slanders against the Network and the rights of its employees.
“Al Jazeera holds the Israeli Prime Minister responsible for the safety of its staff and Network premises around the world, following his incitement and this false accusation in a disgraceful manner.”
Foreign journalists have been banned from entering Gaza, leaving Al Jazeera as the only broadcaster able to provide eyewitness accounts of the war on the ground.
Journalists including Hamza Al-Dahdouh, the son of Al Jazeera Gaza bureau chief Wael Al-Dahdouh, have been killed by Israeli strikes leading Al Jazeera to accuse Israel of targeting its reporters. Israel denies the claim.
