Cabinet to approve closure of Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel tonight, ToI told

Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter

An employee of Qatar-based news network and TV channel Al Jazeera is seen at the outlet's Jerusalem office on July 31, 2017. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP)
An employee of Qatar-based news network and TV channel Al Jazeera is seen at the outlet's Jerusalem office on July 31, 2017. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP)

The cabinet will approve the closure of Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel tonight, The Times of Israel has learned.

The Knesset approved last month the so-called Al Jazeera law, giving the government temporary powers to prevent foreign news networks from operating in Israel if they are deemed by the security services to be harming national security.

Though Israeli officials have long complained about Al Jazeera’s coverage, which they say is heavily influenced by Hamas and endangers IDF troops in Gaza, in the past they stopped short of taking action, mindful of Qatar’s bankrolling of Palestinian construction projects in the Gaza Strip, which were seen by all sides as a means of staving off conflict.

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