ISLAMABAD: Israel&#39;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 &quot;propaganda outlet&quot; 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&#39;s X account, the amendment &quot;allows, under a temporary provision valid until December 31, 2027, the restriction of broadcasts by foreign media that harm state security.&quot; 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&#39;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. &quot;Terrorist channels are out of bounds, in normal times as well as under a state of emergency,&quot; Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi wrote in a post on his X account. &quot;After voting for this law several times during the war to stop Al Jazeera&#39;s broadcasts in Israel, last night we finalized it independently of the state of emergency,&quot; he added. Media freedom has deteriorated in Israel since the start of the war in Gaza, dropping 11 places in Reporters Without Borders&#39; 2025 global press freedom index, from 101st to 112th out of 180 surveyed countries in 2024.

Middle East

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.

Israel extends power to ban broadcasts deemed harmful to security

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), Francesca Albanese, has condemned Israel&rsquo;s move to advance a law permitting the execution of Palestinian detainees &mdash; including minors &mdash; calling it part of the ongoing &ldquo;violence of ethnic cleansing.&rdquo; Reacting to the development, Albanese wrote on X: &ldquo;In Palestine there is NO ceasefire, NO peace, only destruction and the violence of ethnic cleansing. Watching world leaders play &lsquo;let&rsquo;s pretend&rsquo; with the light-heartedness of 4th graders playing Lego is sickening. We will all pay for their complicity &amp; the insecurity it is sowing.&rdquo; <div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1985764774538363190&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fdashboard%2F&sessionId=00d6f132e353121768d427d40bb51884a1f318cc&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 939px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;</iframe></div></div> According to a report by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, the Israeli Knesset&rsquo;s Security Committee approved the bill on Monday, giving the green light for its advancement to the Knesset plenum for further debate and voting in the next legislative stages. A final vote is expected next Wednesday. Israeli media reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu personally endorsed the bill&rsquo;s progression. The bill, long championed by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, is part of the coalition agreements between Netanyahu&rsquo;s Likud party and Ben-Gvir&rsquo;s Jewish Power party. It authorizes the death penalty for Palestinians accused of killing Israelis &ldquo;out of racist or hateful motives and to harm Israel.&rdquo; WAFA noted that the legislation has been revived multiple times over the years, most recently gaining preliminary approval in March 2023. Its renewed momentum now reflects the government&rsquo;s intensified policies toward Palestinians amid the ongoing war in Gaza and increased violence in the occupied West Bank. Earlier, ReliefWeb, a humanitarian portal managed by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), reported that the Knesset&rsquo;s National Security Committee had initially endorsed the draft bill for first reading on Sep. 28. The bill allows judges to impose death sentences by a simple majority rather than unanimous decision &mdash; a change that rights groups say paves the way for politically motivated executions. Since October 2023, thousands of Palestinians have been arbitrarily detained across Gaza and the West Bank, with humanitarian monitors documenting torture, inhumane conditions, and numerous deaths in custody. Albanese said the bill represents a &ldquo;dangerous normalization of state-sanctioned killing&rdquo; and underscores global failure to confront what she described as Israel&rsquo;s &ldquo;genocidal policies&rdquo; against the Palestinian people.

Israeli media reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu personally endorsed the bill’s progression.

Articles tagged with "Israeli Knesset"

Israel extends power to ban broadcasts deemed harmful to security

UN rights expert condemns Israeli bill allowing execution of Palestinian hostages, including children

Israel extends power to ban broadcasts deemed harmful to security