ISLAMABAD: Israel's parliament announced on Tuesday the extension of a law allowing authorities to ban any foreign media deemed harmful to state security from broadcasting in the country.
Adopted in April 2024, at the height of the Israel siege of Gaza, the legislation primarily targeted Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera, which Israeli authorities have accused of serving as a "propaganda outlet" for Hamas.
The law was originally limited to the state of emergency declared at the start of the war.
However, on December 1, 2025, the Knesset voted to end that state of emergency, and an amendment passed overnight meant the law will remain in force for another two years.
According to a statement published on the Knesset's X account, the amendment "allows, under a temporary provision valid until December 31, 2027, the restriction of broadcasts by foreign media that harm state security."
Left-leaning Haaretz newspaper, citing the bill, reported that the legislation allows such measures even in the absence of a state of emergency.
Under the law, if the prime minister determines that a foreign media outlet poses a threat to state security, the communications minister may order a halt to its broadcasts.
The minister is also authorized to shut down the outlet's offices, seize broadcasting equipment and block its website, according to the text of the bill published by Haaretz.
The legislation requires the prime minister to consult security agencies, including the police, before issuing a ban.
However, a single favourable opinion is sufficient to order a shutdown, with no judicial review required.
"Terrorist channels are out of bounds, in normal times as well as under a state of emergency," Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi wrote in a post on his X account.
"After voting for this law several times during the war to stop Al Jazeera's broadcasts in Israel, last night we finalized it independently of the state of emergency," he added.
Media freedom has deteriorated in Israel since the start of the war in Gaza, dropping 11 places in Reporters Without Borders' 2025 global press freedom index, from 101st to 112th out of 180 surveyed countries in 2024.
