The Israeli Cabinet on Sunday unanimously approved the decision of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi to shut down the virulently antisemitic Qatari Al Jazeera news channel in Israel.
The Cabinet members said that the decision was based on classified information from the Shin Bet, IDF and Mossad showing that Al Jazeera is a national security threat.
The decision follows the passing of the “Al Jazeera law” by the Knesset in April which granted the government temporary powers to ban foreign news channels from operating in Israel if they are proven to pose a threat to national security.
Following the vote, Karhi signed the orders and stated: “Our orders will go into effect immediately. Too much time and too many unnecessary legal hurdles have passed to allow us to finally be able to halt Al Jazeera’s oiled incitement machine which harms the security of the state.”
“For months, I have done everything I could and will continue to do everything I can so that they can no longer operate from Israel.”
The orders are to stop the channel’s broadcasts in Arabic and English through content providers in Israel, close its offices, and block access to its websites.
Unsurprisingly, a petition against the decision has already been filed to the Supreme Court by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), which claims that the ruling violates the right to free speech.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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6 Responses
Do you really think they should !!!!
That “Supreme court” akin to the Supreme leader in Iran, will undoubtedly overturn this legal decision made by legally elected officials. They should be overthrown.
Ralphz: This decision is long overdue! It should have been shut down when Lucy Dee and her daughters הי”ד were massacred in their car on Pesach last year. Christine Amanpour reported it as a “shoot out’, not as a col-blooded murder of innocents. Then after a few days of pressure, issued a lame apology that she ‘misspoke ‘. Al Jazeera is a terrorist entity and their “news reports” drip with falsehood and slander. Even their weather reports should be assumed fictitious…
the right of free speech is being misused by terror supporters and incitement to violence in Israel, US, UK and everywhere else…
Ha ha ha. The so called only democracy in the region. Gimme a break. Let them broadcast and let us pull apart their lies, free speech is a great thing
Wait. Did Chris Wray ever conclude his “investigation” into the death of Shireen Abu Akleh? This terrorist’s death is what keeps the FBI up at night. It is very important, to the average American, to get to the bottom of this.