A clause granting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Shin Bet chief David Zini authority to issue directives to media organizations during election periods was inserted into Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi’s controversial media overhaul bill Thursday, and then removed after outrage from opposition lawmakers.

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 extend those powers to election periods, and would apply to news broadcasters and other content providers.

The bill’s text, regardless of the amendment, would already give the government significant control over broadcast media, news sites and other media. But the clause prompted outrage from opposition MKs during a hearing of the Knesset committee preparing the measure for its final readings.

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

Democrats MK Efrat Rayten said, addressing Karhi directly, that “the fact that this is happening right before elections reveals your intentions.”

"סתמתם לנו את הפיות, הדיון הזה פסול לחלוטין"חברי האופוזיציה מחו על אופן התנהלות הדיון והוצאו מהאולם | צפו ????️מתוך הדיון בנושא הצ"ח התקשורת@GalitDistel @shlomo_karhi @Efratrayten1 @Shellytalmeron @EitanGinzburg @evgenysova https://t.co/aM1kkjR9aK pic.twitter.com/XgGGIxtLgg Advertisement if(typeof rgb_remove_toi_dfp_banner != "function" || !rgb_remove_toi_dfp_banner("#Article_Incontent1")){ window.tude = window.tude || { cmd: [] }; tude.cmd.push(function() { if(navigator.userAgent.indexOf("rgbmedia-app") > -1){ tude.setDeviceType("mobile"); } tude.refreshAdsViaDivMappings([ { divId: 'Article_Incontent1', baseDivId: 'Article_Incontent1', } ]); }); } — ערוץ כנסת 99 (@KnessetT) June 11, 2026

"סתמתם לנו את הפיות, הדיון הזה פסול לחלוטין"חברי האופוזיציה מחו על אופן התנהלות הדיון והוצאו מהאולם | צפו

????️מתוך הדיון בנושא הצ"ח התקשורת@GalitDistel @shlomo_karhi @Efratrayten1 @Shellytalmeron @EitanGinzburg @evgenysova https://t.co/aM1kkjR9aK pic.twitter.com/XgGGIxtLgg

— ערוץ כנסת 99 (@KnessetT) June 11, 2026

Committee legal........

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