AMN/ WEB DESK
The Israeli Parliament has approved a law giving powers to the government to ban the broadcast of TV channels including the Qatari-owned network, Al Jazeera. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, he would act immediately to close the Al Jazeera network’s local office.
The foreign journalists are banned from entering Gaza and the Al Jazeera staff based in the strip have been some of the only reporters covering the war on the ground. The Knesset, Israel’s parliament, approved the bill allowing the foreign networks considered a threat to national security to be temporarily banned. The ban would be in place for a period of 45 days at a time, which could be renewed. The law would stay in force until July or until the end of significant fighting in Gaza. In a social media post, Mr Netanyahu wrote that Al Jazeera will no longer be broadcast from Israel and called it a terrorist channel. The channel has accused Israel of deliberately targeting its staff however Israel denies targeting journalists. For years, Israeli officials have accused the network of anti-Israeli bias. Their criticism of the broadcaster has intensified since the Hamas attacks of 7 October, last year. The US has expressed concern over the move.