The Diplomatic-Security Cabinet did not vote Thursday night on whether to close Al Jazeera's offices in Israel, despite the fact that the Attorney General approved the vote.
According to Kan News, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara approved holding the vote, despite the fact that she has worked to delay the process.
Earlier on Thursday night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he intended to bring the matter for a vote, in order to approve all of the orders to end Al Jazeera's broadcasts in Arabic and English through Israeli content providers, close the channel's offices, and block access to Al Jazeera's websites.
The bill to shutter Al Jazeera was passed in February, in light of reports that one of the channel's "journalists" was a Hamas commander. According to the bill, if the prime minister is convinced that a foreign news station is harming the country, the Minister of Communications, after receiving at least one security opinion and with the approval of the government or the cabinet, can take action against a foreign channel that acts against the country.
Baharav-Miara had noted that the main legal obstacle was that Al Jazeera had not been given a hearing before the orders were signed, but she also said that there is no legal obstacle to signing the orders even without holding a hearing.