Israeli Knesset advances bill to tighten government control on media

The Israeli Knesset on Tuesday approved a bill in preliminary reading to grant the government greater control over the country’s media sector, Anadolu news agency reported. 

According to a Knesset statement, 54 members voted in favor of the bill, while 47 opposed it.

The bill allows for the creation of a new regulatory authority to replace both the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council and the Second Authority for Television and Radio. Under Israel’s legislative system, a bill must pass three readings before becoming law.

Israel is among the countries with the strictest controls over the press, enforced through a system known as “military censorship” which allows the army to block publication of any material deemed "harmful to national security".

The move comes as Israeli police have arrested the country's former top military lawyer Tomer-Yerushalmi for leaking a video apparently showing soldiers raping a Palestinian detainee.

Israeli Channel 12 news reported that police suspect Yerushalmi staged an attempted suicide to get rid of her phone, and faked a suicide attempt to dispose of her phone "containing incriminating evidence".