Netanyahu vow to ban Al Jazeera

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Monday to implement a prohibition on Al Jazeera news channel broadcasts within Israel, leveraging new authority granted to him by lawmakers. This potential ban marks a recent escalation in the ongoing conflict between Israel’s government and the Qatari network, particularly amid Israel’s conflict with Hamas militants in Gaza.

In January, Israel asserted that a journalist and a freelancer from Al Jazeera killed in a Gaza airstrike were “terror operatives.” The following month, another Al Jazeera journalist wounded in a separate strike was labeled a “deputy company commander” with Hamas by Israel.

Al Jazeera vehemently refuted these allegations, accusing Israel of deliberately targeting its employees in Gaza. Netanyahu announced on X, formerly Twitter, “The terrorist channel Al Jazeera will no longer broadcast from Israel. I intend to act immediately in accordance with the new law to halt the channel’s activities.”

The recently passed law, endorsed by a vote of 70 to 10 on Monday, empowers Netanyahu to prohibit foreign channel broadcasts and also permits the closure of their Israeli offices.

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