The Israeli parliament passed a bill Monday giving top ministers the authority to bar from Israel the broadcasts of news channel Al Jazeera -- a step Premier Benjamin Netanyahu is poised to take. This law, which passed by 70 votes to 10, carries the authority to ban the broadcast of content from foreign channels but also allows the closing of their offices in Israel. Netanyahu has vowed to take "immediate action" to shut down Al Jazeera in Israel once the law passes. Israel had 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. Israeli troops have been fighting against Hamas in Gaza since October. Al Jazeera has fiercely denied the accusations and accused Israel of systematically targeting Al Jazeera employees in the Gaza Strip. The bi...
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