Netanyahu seeks to use 'Al Jazeera' law to shut down broadcaster

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to shut down local operations of a Qatar-based news channel after Israel's parliament 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.

Israeli lawmakers voted in favour of the legislation on Monday 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.

"Al-Jazeera damaged Israel’s security, actively participated in the massacre on October 7th and incited Israeli soldiers," Netanyahu wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

“Al-Jazeera will no longer broadcast from Israel. I intend to act immediately in accordance with the new law to stop the channel's activity," he continued.

Netanyahu had said before the vote that he would immediately campaign for the local 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," Communications Minister Karhi said last year after the massacre by Palestinian Islamist in the Israeli border region.

The reporting helps terrorist organizations such as Hamas, Karhi asserted at the time.

The United States reacted cautiously to news of the passage of the law. "If it is true, it is concerning to us," the White House said in a statement on Monday.

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.