The Israeli parliament Knesset permitted a invoice to close down overseas news shops, together with the Qatar-based Al Jazeera Television on Monday.
The legislation was handed 71 to 10 in its second and third readings within the Knesset plenum.
The first studying of the invoice was handed on Feb. 12.
Under the invoice, the communications minister will probably be empowered to close down overseas networks working in Israel and confiscate their gear if the protection minister identifies that their broadcast poses “an precise hurt to the state’s safety.”
Following the passage of the legislation, Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi vowed that the Qatari-funded Al Jazeera channel can be closed down “within the coming days.”
Early Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “instantly act to shut Al Jazeera” following the invoice’s passage within the Knesset.
The US described the passage of the invoice to shut Al Jazeera as “concerning.”
“We believe in the freedom of the press. It is critical. It is critically important. And the United States supports the critically important work journalists around the world do and that includes those who are reporting in the conflict in Gaza,” White House Spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre stated throughout a press briefing.
Al Jazeera has an workplace in Israel and a crew of correspondents working year-round, together with overlaying Israel’s ongoing warfare on the Gaza Strip, which has killed almost 32,850 folks since Oct. 7, 2023.
Source: www.dailysabah.com