Tel Aviv extends Al Jazeera ban by 45 days

JERUSALEM: 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.

A Tel Aviv court last week upheld an initial 35-day ban on Al Jazeera operations in Israel, imposed by the government on national security grounds, which ended on Saturday.

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”.

It gave Israel’s government until Aug 8 to offer arguments for “why it should not be determined that the Law Preventing a Foreign Broadcaster from Harming National Security” is void.

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, said it planned to appeal the latest ban extension.

The network’s broadcasts on the cable and satellite companies and access to its websites will remain blocked, Israel’s Communications Ministry said.