Israel seeks to make “Al Jazeera Law” permanent, granting power to ban foreign media outlets

Author: Devin Windelspecht, MSc

November 20, 2025

HRRC voices intense concern over the ongoing deterioration of press freedoms in Israel. It calls on the Israeli government to cease attempts to restrict freedom of information and press freedoms in Israel, including through the permanent codification of the “Al Jazeera Law.” 

[Image credit: Menahem Kahana / AFP]

In a vote in Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, on November 10, lawmakers voted to move forward with a bill that would make permanent the “Al Jazeera Law” – a controversial emergency law that bans foreign news outlets found to “undermine national security.” 

The law, so called because it was first used to shut down and raid the offices of Qatar-based outlet Al Jazeera during the Israel-Hamas war, was first passed in April 2024, and extended several times during the state of emergency that followed the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. Israel has accused Al Jazeera of being a mouthpiece for Hamas, a claim which Al Jazeera vehemently denies. 

The Israeli military has also targeted and killed journalists reporting for Al Jazeera in Gaza, claiming – without providing evidence – that at least one of the journalists killed was an active member of a “Hamas terrorist cell.” Targeting journalists is a war crime according to international law. 

The emergency law has not exclusively targeted Al Jazeera. In May 2024, Israel used the law as a basis to take down a live feed of Gaza aired by the Associated Press (AP) and seize equipment at the AP’s offices, although it later reversed its decision due to international pressure. 

The new law, the first reading of which was passed 50-41 in favor in the Israeli Knesset, would go a step further than the existing emergency law by allowing a ban on foreign media to take place, whether or not a state of national emergency was declared. It would additionally remove judicial overview of the law, which previously required a judge to approve the banning of a media outlet on the basis of an ongoing national security threat. 

If passed, the law would give the communications minister additional powers, including the authority to direct internet providers to block or remove content, and would allow the defense minister to take measures to prevent broadcasts considered harmful to national security, such as by blocking satellite signals. 

Having passed its first reading, the law must now go on to pass a second and third reading before being presented for a final vote. 

Journalism organizations and civil rights groups both inside and outside of Israel have condemned the Al Jazeera Law as an assault on press freedoms. The Committee to Protect Journalists has said that the law contributes to “a climate of self-censorship and hostility toward the press.” The Association of Civil Rights in Israel has previously called for the emergency law’s repeal, stating that it “violates freedom of expression, the right to information and freedom of the press, and blocks citizens and residents from receiving a variety of information that does not fit the Israeli narrative.” 

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Glossary 

• Codification – to make into law. 

• Condemn – object to, strongly. 

• Deterioration - decline. 

• Emergency law – a law put into place during a state of emergency, usually not intended to be permanent. 

• Freedom of expression – the right to express opinions openly and without fear. 

• Freedom of information – the ability of everyday citizens to easily acquire information from a range of sources. 

• Judicial overview – the ability for a judicial body to declare that a law is against the constitution or laws of a country. 

• Mouthpiece – serving as an official or unofficial outlet to spread a group’s beliefs or message. 

• National security – protecting the security of a country and its citizens from outside threats. 

• Press Freedom – the freedom of journalists to report without fear of censorship, harassment, threats or harm. 

• Reading – in which a law is presented to a legislative body for debate before a vote is held. 

• Self-censorship – stopping the writing or reporting on a given topic in advance on fear of harm to a person’s career, safety, or freedom. 

• State of emergency – a state in which some rights and freedoms are temporarily curtailed on the basis of an ongoing threat to the country. In most democracies, this is a temporary state set to expire, unless renewed by a vote, for a set period of time. 

• Terrorist cell - a group of militants affiliated with a designated terrorist organization.

• Undermine – intentional seek to disrupt or destroy. 

• Vehemently – strongly. 

• War Crime – a violation of international agreements governing how war can be fought, including but not exclusive to the Geneva Conventions.