After backlash, Karhi drops bid to grant Netanyahu additional power over media before election

A clause granting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expanded authority over media organizations was inserted into Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi’s controversial media overhaul bill Thursday, before being removed after outrage from opposition lawmakers, who warn it would grant the government sweeping powers over news organizations just months before national elections.

The bill was advanced in a vote in the Knesset in January and requires two more votes before it can be passed into law.

A similar provision, to go into effect during states of emergency and which would apply to communications distribution platforms such as cable TV, had previously been removed from the legislation.

The revised clause that surfaced overnight would also apply to news broadcasters and other content providers, giving the prime minister unprecedented power over news organizations while campaigning and into elections, including the authority to shut them down after consulting with Shin Bet chief David Zini.

In a joint statement, opposition lawmakers on the committee accuse Karhi of attempting to use the legislation to “control what is seen on television during elections” and to hand out benefits to media outlets close to the government.

Elections are set to be held by October 27, although the final date has not been established.

“We never discussed this in committee. I never saw a legal opinion on it. No security official sat here and discussed it with us,” says Yesh Atid MK Shelly Tal Meron, noting sarcastically that the provision “suddenly appeared in the middle of the night, just before the vote.”

סתימת פיות בשידור חי! ????
שר התקשורת קרעי עשה מחטף וניסה להעביר שורה של תיקונים אנטי-דמוקרטיים לחוק השידורים כדי שהממשלה תוכל לשלוט במה שנראה בטלוויזיה בזמן הבחירות, וכדי לחלק מתנות לערוצים שמקורבים אליו.

הבוקר הגענו לוועדה חברי האופוזיציה, דרשנו תשובות ולא הסכמנו שיעבירו את… pic.twitter.com/nBpcSgVEhY

— MK Shelly Tal Meron – שלי טל מירון (@Shellytalmeron) June 11, 2026

Democrats MK Efrat Rayten says to Karhi: “The fact that this is happening right before the election reveals your intentions.”

Karhi ultimately backs down from including the clause, saying that security officials advised that the provision was unnecessary.

Tal Meron questions whether the proposal originated with security officials at all, suggesting instead that it came directly from Netanyahu, who is on trial in a corruption case involving allegations that he accepted bribes in the form of positive media coverage from the Walla news site in return for providing regulatory benefits in the telecommunications field to Shaul Elovitch, who owned both Walla and the Bezeq telecommunications company.

Lawmakers also object to another last-minute amendment lifting restrictions on the i24NEWS channel, owned by Netanyahu ally and French-Israeli businessman Patrick Drahi, from broadcasting on cable and satellite platforms.

“Netanyahu is deeply involved in this legislation,” Rayten says, adding that “this is government corruption at the highest level.”