Info battle for Gaza

Law approved: Israel wants to turn off Al-Jazeera

The Al-Jazeera headquarters in the Qatari capital Doha(Bild: APA/AFP/KARIM JAAFAR)

Israel's parliament has approved the controversial "Al-Jazeera law". This allows foreign TV stations to be shut down if they are deemed to pose a risk to state security. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in particular had campaigned for this drastic step.

This means that the offices of a broadcaster in Israel can be closed, the equipment confiscated, the broadcaster removed from the TV program of cable and satellite providers and the website blocked. According to media reports, the Communications Minister can order the closures.

Netanyahu's campaign against Arab TV giant
Following the passing of the law, Prime Minister Netanyahu announced the swift closure of the Arab TV channel. "Al-Jazeera has damaged Israel's security, actively participated in the massacre on October 7 and incited against Isarelian soldiers," Netanyahu said on X. "Al-Jazeera will no longer broadcast from Israel."

Al-Jazeera's coverage of the Gaza war is a thorn in Netanyahu's side.(Bild: APA/AFP/POOL/RONEN ZVULUN)

Israel accuses the Qatar-based broadcaster of biased reporting. Al-Jazeera's broadcasts and reports constitute "incitement against Israel", said Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi last year after the Hamas massacre in the Israeli border region. He added that the reporting helped terrorist organizations such as Hamas.

Battle for image sovereignty in the Gaza war
Since the beginning of the Gaza war, Al-Jazeera has reported extensively on the catastrophic situation in the Gaza Strip and shown images of death and destruction that are rarely seen on Israeli TV stations. The channel also regularly shows videos of the military arm of Hamas, the Qassam Brigades, often of attacks on Israeli soldiers.