Private bill that would make Al Jazeera Law permanent will advance to preliminary reading

The Ministerial Committee for Legislation approved a decision to advance a preliminary reading of a private bill that would turn the so-called Al Jazeera Law, which is currently a temporary order, into a permanent piece of legislation, Haaretz reports.

The bill, which would permanently give the government power to prevent foreign news networks from operating in Israel if they are deemed by the security services to be harming national security, was put forward by Likud MK Ariel Kellner.

According to Haaretz, Kellner argues that the legislation must become permanent “due to the fact that the State of Israel has faced serious security threats since its establishment, and is expected to continue to face them in the future.”

At present, the order must be renewed every 45 days to remain in effect.