Sunday 5 May 2024 – 14:12
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet unanimously decided on Sunday to suspend the operation of Qatar’s Al Jazeera television network in Israel, a statement from the government did not specify when the decision would come into effect.
The cabinet’s vote came after the Israeli Knesset passed a bill authorizing the temporary closure in Israel of foreign broadcasters deemed a threat to national security during the war against Hamas in Gaza.
Netanyahu wrote in a post on the “X” platform: “The government under my chairmanship unanimously decided to close the Al Jazeera incitement channel in Israel.”
“Our orders will go into effect immediately … We faced many unnecessary legal obstacles until we were finally able to stop Al Jazeera’s incitement machine, which harms the country’s security,” Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karaei said in a statement.