A bid to make Israel’s emergency “Al Jazeera Law” a lasting power of censorship has cleared its first hurdle in the Knesset.
The measure, introduced by Likud MK Ariel Kallner, passed its initial vote on Monday with 50 members backing it and 41 opposed.
The narrow margin reflects the deep divide over whether the state should have the authority to silence foreign media outlets even in peacetime.
Kallner’s proposal would turn what was once a temporary wartime measure into a standing law, granting the government open-ended control over the presence of broadcasters in Israel.
The bill removes any requirement for court involvement, allowing the communications minister to shut down news networks without judicial review.
It also grants broad new powers. The minister could order internet companies to block online material, instruct cable and satellite providers to remove content, and direct the defense minister to disrupt foreign satellite signals to keep broadcasts from reaching Israeli audiences.
The law in its current, temporary form was passed in April 2024, giving the government authority to act against foreign outlets during a declared emergency if their coverage was believed to be “doing real harm to state security.”
Within weeks, that power was used to close Al Jazeera’s offices in Israel and confiscate its equipment.
Those actions provoked alarm at home and abroad, with journalists and civil rights groups accusing the government of using security claims as a cover for suppressing uncomfortable reporting.
Israel’s leadership has long condemned Al Jazeera’s coverage, alleging it amplifies Hamas propaganda and exposes Israeli troop movements.
But until last year, no administration had taken formal steps to shut it down. The temporary law has since been renewed several times while lawmakers debated making it permanent.
Kallner, who has been pushing the measure for over a year, finally succeeded in bringing it to a vote after it stalled in committee earlier in 2025.
Next, the bill returns to the Knesset National Security Committee for further debate before facing its second and third readings.
During committee discussions in July, the panel’s own legal advisor condemned the attempt to eliminate judicial oversight, calling it “unconstitutional.”
Al Jazeera and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) have filed petitions challenging the measure, arguing that it undermines freedom of expression and the right to information.
The Tel Aviv District Court, however, previously sided with the government in 2024, ruling that there was “a clear and proven causal relationship” between Al Jazeera’s coverage and terror attacks, and asserting that some of its Gaza-based journalists had acted as “de facto assistants and partners of the Hamas terror organization.”
