Knesset passes law aimed at silencing Al Jazeera, White House 'concerned'

The Knesset passed into law on Monday a bill aimed at shutting down the operations of the Qatari state-funded news outlet Al Jazeera in Israel.

The Likud stated on Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had spoken with Coalition Whip Ofir Katz to ensure that the bill passes and that the prime minister will act immediately to close Al Jazeera according to the procedure laid out in the law.

According to the law, if the prime minister becomes convinced that content broadcast by foreign media “harms in a real way” the nation’s security, the communications minister can bring a resolution to the government to block that media’s television broadcast in Israel, shut down its offices, seize equipment used for its broadcasts, and block its website under certain conditions.