JERUSALEM, April 2, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu pledged Monday to enact a ban on broadcasts in Israel from news
channel Al Jazeera using authority lawmakers newly voted to grant him.

The potential ban escalates the running conflict between Israel's government
and the Qatar-based channel that has intensified during Israel's war with
Hamas in Gaza.

"The terrorist channel Al Jazeera will no longer broadcast from Israel. I
intend to act immediately in accordance with the new law to stop the
channel's activities," Netanyahu said on X, formerly Twitter.

Al Jazeera said "this latest measure comes as part of a series of systematic
Israeli attacks to silence Al Jazeera".

It said this included the killing of one journalist before the October 7
attacks by Hamas in Israel, and the deaths of two more network correspondents
and the bombing of its office during the Gaza war since.

And US White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said "if it is true, a move
like this is concerning."

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said the law underpinning
Netanyahu's pledge grants Israel the power to close any foreign outlets
operating within its borders.

"This contributes to a climate of self-censorship and hostility toward the
press, a trend that has escalated since the Israel-Gaza war began," a
statement from the group added.

Israel claimed in January that an Al Jazeera staff journalist and a
freelancer killed in an air strike in Gaza were "terror operatives".

The following month it said another journalist for the channel, wounded in a
separate strike, was a "deputy company commander" with Hamas.

Al Jazeera has fiercely denied Israel's accusations and accused Israel of
systematically targeting Al Jazeera employees in the Gaza Strip.

- Law passed by wide margin -

Al Jazeera's bureau chief in the Palestinian territory, Wael al-Dahdouh, was
also wounded, in an Israeli strike in December that killed the network's
cameraman.

His wife, two of their children and a grandson were killed in October
bombardment of central Gaza's Nuseirat refugee camp, while his eldest son was
the Al Jazeera staff journalist killed in January when a strike targeted a
car in Rafah.

Al Jazeera said in a statement that Netanyahu had launched a "frantic" and
"disgraceful" campaign of accusations against the network.

The channel said it "condemns these statements and sees as nothing but a
dangerous ludicrous lie" and vowed to continue with its "bold" coverage of
the war.

The law at the centre of Netanyahu's moves to bar Al Jazeera passed on Monday
by 70 votes to 10 and grants the authority to top ministers to ban the
broadcast of content from foreign channels deemed a security threat.

The law also allows Israel to order the closing of an outlet's offices.

Al Jazeera bills itself as the "first independent news channel in the Arab
world," and began broadcasting in Doha in 1996.

Qatar is also the home base for Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Al Jazeera says it has more than 70 bureaus around the globe, with more than
3,000 employees from more than 95 countries and reaches more than 430 million
homes.

Tensions between Israel and Al Jazeera have only grown since conflict erupted
on October 7.

The bloodiest ever Gaza war began with Hamas's unprecedented attack which
resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an
AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory campaign, aimed at destroying Hamas, has killed at least
32,845 people, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza health
ministry.