Israel approves 'Al Jazeera' law to allow closure of foreign channels

Israel's parliament has approved what is known as the "Al-Jazeera law" which allows broadcasters from abroad to be shut down if they are deemed to pose a risk to state security, parliament said on Monday.

Lawmakers voted in favour in the second and third readings.

Under the law, Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi can order the closure of a television broadcaster, the confiscation of broadcasting equipment, the removal of the broadcaster from cable and satellite television providers' programmes and the blocking of its website, ynet news site reported.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he would immediately campaign for the closure of Al-Jazeera once the law had been approved, the Times of Israel reported, although similar efforts have failed in the past.

Israel accuses the broadcaster of biased reporting. Al-Jazeera's programmes and reports represent "incitement against Israel," Karhi said last year after the massacre by Palestinian Islamist in the Israeli border region.

The reporting helps terrorist organizations such as Hamas, he said.

Since the beginning of the Gaza war, Al-Jazeera has reported extensively on the catastrophic situation in the Gaza Strip and shown images of death and destruction rarely shown on Israeli television.

The channel also regularly shows videos of the military arm of Hamas, the Qassam Brigades, often of attacks on Israeli soldiers.