Israel extends order allowing closure of foreign broadcasters

Israel’s Knesset has extended an order allowing the government to shut down foreign broadcasters operating in the country.

The bill, passed by a vote of 22 to 10, expands temporary powers introduced during the war in Gaza to close shops deemed to pose a threat to national security.

It allows the government to halt the operations of foreign media for the next two years, even in peacetime, without the need for a court order.

The powers, initially known as the “Al Jazeera Law”, were used to close the Qatar-owned channel’s offices and block its broadcasts in May 2024.

Israel accuses Al Jazeera – which has been a strong critic of Israel’s military operations in Gaza – of anti-Israel bias and pro-Hamas reporting.

Al Jazeera denies the accusations and condemns Israel’s actions, calling them a “criminal act” and an attack on press freedom.

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) said last year that the temporary order violated “freedom of expression, information and freedom of the press and prevents citizens and residents from receiving a variety of information that does not fit the Israeli narrative or is not broadcast on Israeli media channels”.

The legislation extending the order came hours after the Israeli cabinet approved plans to close Army Radio (GLZ), a state-funded station operated by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) but with editorial independence.

The station will cease operations on March 1, 2026, according to the plan proposed by Defense Secretary Israel Katz.

Katz argued that Army Radio, which employs both active-duty soldiers and civilians, “no longer serves as a mouthpiece and ears for soldiers and broadcasts political and divisive content that is inconsistent with the IDF’s values.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting that it was highly unusual for a military-controlled station to broadcast.

“I think it exists in North Korea and maybe some other countries, and we probably don’t want to be counted among them,” he said.

A coalition of journalists and journalists’ organizations said they would petition the High Court against the decision, calling it a “serious and unlawful infringement of freedom of expression and freedom of the press”.

The Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) think tank said the closure of Army Radio constituted a serious violation of free speech and effectively eliminated half of Israel’s independent public radio news broadcasts.

“The decision to close a public media organization is not an isolated move. It is part of a broader and worrying pattern of ongoing damage to Israeli democracy,” it warned.