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The Israeli government approved an emergency measure allowing it to ban the broadcast of the Qatari news channel Al Jazeera. The Israeli media reported this. The law aims to ban news channels that endanger the country’s security.

Last weekend, Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karai said he wanted to close the local editorial board of Al Jazeera. He described the channel as a “propaganda mouthpiece” that would incite viewers against Israel. In addition, the channel will expose Israeli soldiers to danger by showing pictures of them.

This legislation allows for banning broadcasts from Israeli television, blocking Al Jazeera’s website, closing its offices in Israel, and confiscating equipment. The decision in this regard must be approved by the Israeli Security Council of Ministers and be based on legal opinions from the security services. An Israeli local court must then determine whether the decision is legally correct.

Critic of Israel
The Al Jazeera Press Organization, which is based in Qatar, has two English-language branches and an Arabic-language branch, and is paid by the oil state. It is clear that the channel criticizes Israel and sympathizes with the Palestinian cause, and the Arab channel in particular is explicitly pro-Palestinian in its reports.

However, Al Jazeera’s journalism is known globally for its high quality. The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists called on the Israeli government to exercise restraint in blocking Al Jazeera.

The editorial board’s independent stance repeatedly puts Al Jazeera’s journalists at risk. For example, in 2013, three Al Jazeera employees in Egypt disappeared and were in prison for more than a year because of their reporting. ‘Harmful to national security‘ Will be. Last year, popular Palestinian correspondent Sherine Abu Okla of Al Jazeera was shot dead by the Israeli army while covering news in the occupied West Bank.

Niels Warlow