Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for the Knesset to pass on Monday evening the so-called Al Jazeera law, which would give his government the power to prevent foreign news networks from operating in Israel.
In a statement, Netanyahu’s Likud party said that the prime minister had spoken with coalition whip Ofir Katz to ask him to ensure the bill’s passage in its second and third readings.
Netanyahu promised to “immediately work to close Al Jazeera,” a network funded by the Qatari government, following the law’s passage.
If passed, the bill would give the prime minister and the communications minister the authority to order the closure of foreign networks operating in Israel and confiscate their equipment if it is believed that they pose “an actual harm to state security.”
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