Israel has extended a 45-day ban on Al Jazeera operations, initially imposed on national security grounds and recently upheld by an Israeli court. The ban, which concluded on Saturday, has been extended by the government.
In a separate ruling on a petition filed by Al Jazeera challenging the closure, Israel's Supreme Court described the measure against the Qatari-backed broadcaster as "precedent-setting."
The Supreme Court has given Israel's government until August 8 to justify why "the Law Preventing a Foreign Broadcaster from Harming National Security" should not be declared void.
According to court documents, the news organisation, through its legal team, conveyed that the channel didn’t incite violence or terrorism and described the ban as disproportionate.
Legal experts urged the court to review the fresh ban on the channel, which is critical of the Israeli government.
While the Israeli communications ministry announced that Al Jazeera’s network's broadcasts on cable and satellite companies, as well as access to its websites, will remain blocked,
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi has said, "We will not allow the terrorist channel Al Jazeera to broadcast from Israel and endanger our soldiers," asserting that the law authorised him to take such action against foreign broadcasters.
Karhi added, "In light of the seriousness of the damage to the state's security, I am convinced that the closure orders will be extended in the future as well."
Judge Shai Yaniv mentioned he had been presented with unspecified evidence of a long-standing and close relationship between the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and Al Jazeera, accusing the channel of promoting Hamas' goals.
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera rejected these claims, stating it "rejects all the minister's claims, excuses and accusations."
Israeli authorities raided a Jerusalem hotel room used by Al Jazeera as its office on May 5 and announced the shutdown of the operation for the duration of the Gaza war.
However, international media organisations rallied behind Al-Jazeera, terming the Israeli government’s actions as unjustifiable.
They argue that the closure of Al Jazeera's operations is a form of censorship and an attempt to silence critical voices.
Additionally, they expressed concerns about this decision's precedent, which could be used to justify further restrictions on media freedom in the future.
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