The decision of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi to close the Al Jazeera channel in Israel was passed today (Sunday) unanimously. Blue and White was absent from the vote.
After the approval, Minister Karhi signed the decrees and said that "Our decrees will take effect immediately. Too much time and too many unnecessary legal controversies have passed so that we can finally stop the incitement machine of Al Jazeera that harms national security."
"Over the months, I have done everything and will continue to do everything so that they will not be able to operate from Israel again,' he added.
The Prime Minister celebrated the vote as well: "The government under my leadership has decided unanimously: The Al Jazeera incitement channel will be closed in Israel. Thank you to Minister Shlomo Karhi'.
Last week, the Attorney General gave the green light to bring to a vote the issue of closing Al Jazeera channels in Israel.
The decrees brought for approval are instructions to stop broadcasting the channel in Arabic and English through content providers in Israel, closing offices, and blocking access to websites.
The opinion of the Attorney General, Gali Baharav-Miara, which was passed to the legal consultation of the Ministry of Communications, is that there is a significant legal difficulty in signing the decree without giving the channel a right to a hearing before signing the decree.
However, according to the report, she will not claim that there is a legal impediment to signing the decrees, even without the right to a hearing.