Daijiworld Media Network - Jerusalem

Jerusalem, Dec 24: Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, on Tuesday approved the extension of a controversial law that empowers authorities to ban foreign media outlets deemed harmful to state security from operating in the country.

The legislation, first adopted in April 2024 at the height of the Israel-Hamas war, was widely seen as targeting Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera, which Israeli officials have repeatedly accused of acting as a “propaganda platform” for Palestinian militant groups.

Originally, the law was tied to the state of emergency declared following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. However, after the Knesset voted on December 1, 2025, to formally end the state of emergency, lawmakers passed an amendment overnight extending the law’s validity for another two years.

According to a statement shared on the Knesset’s official X account, the amendment allows the restriction of broadcasts by foreign media outlets that harm state security under a temporary provision valid until December 31, 2027.

Left-leaning daily Haaretz, citing the bill, reported that the law now permits such restrictions even in the absence of a declared state of emergency.

Under the provisions, if the prime minister determines that a foreign media organisation poses a threat to state security, the communications minister is authorised to order an immediate halt to its broadcasts. The minister may also shut down the outlet’s offices, seize broadcasting equipment and block access to its website.

While the prime minister is required to consult security agencies, including the police, before issuing a ban, the law stipulates that just one favourable opinion is sufficient to enforce a shutdown. The legislation does not mandate judicial review of such decisions.

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi defended the move, saying, “Terrorist channels are out of bounds, in normal times as well as under a state of emergency.” In a post on X, Karhi said the government had now finalised the law independently of emergency regulations after repeatedly voting on it during the war to block Al Jazeera’s broadcasts in Israel.

Meanwhile, concerns have been raised over declining press freedom in the country. According to Reporters Without Borders, media freedom in Israel has deteriorated since the outbreak of the Gaza war, with the country slipping 11 places in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index — from 101st to 112th among 180 countries surveyed.