A ban on Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel was extended for another 45 days by Israel’s telecoms regulator on Sunday after the cabinet agreed its broadcasts posed a threat to security.
In a separate ruling on a petition by Al Jazeera against the closure, Israel’s Supreme Court described the measure against the Qatari-backed broadcaster channel as “precedent-setting". Al Jazeera had told the court it did not incite violence or terrorism and that the ban was disproportionate, court documents showed. The channel, which has criticised Israel’s military operations in Gaza, was not immediately available for comment.
“We will not allow the terrorist channel Al Jazeera to broadcast from Israel and endanger our fighters,” said Shlomo Karhi, adding that the law authorised him as communications minister to take such action against foreign broadcasters.