The Israeli Government extends the closure of Al Jazeera for 45 days

June 9 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Minister of Communications of the Israeli Government, Shlomo Karhi, announced this Sunday an order extending the closure of the Qatari pan-Arab television Al Jazeera by 45 days despite the doubts expressed by the courts about the legality of the measure.

The decision, approved unanimously by the Government, is based on documentation from security agencies “which indicate without any ambiguity that the broadcasts of the channel (Al Jazeera) represent real damage to state security,” according to a ministerial statement published in social network

“We will not allow the terrorist channel Al Jazeera to broadcast in Israel and endanger our fighters,” the minister himself stressed on the same social network.

Karhi has also referred to the judicial challenges to the closure and the law that supports it. “I am convinced that the closure orders will also be extended in the future, along with the extension of the period established by law that authorizes the Minister of Communications to act against foreign stations that threaten the security of the State,” he argued.

This same Sunday it was learned that the Supreme Court of Israel has given the Government until August 5 to justify the law that has allowed Al Jazeera to be closed. The decision is based on a lawsuit that claims the rule harms freedom of expression and freedom of the press.

The court order offers the Government the alternative that the law, of a provisional nature, is not extended beyond July 31 as provided for in the legal text itself approved in April, according to the Israeli newspaper ‘The Times of Israel’.

The petition received by the court considers that the law is unconstitutional because it affects the separation of powers, the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. In response, the Supreme Court has issued this order “without taking a position and given that we are talking about an unprecedented law of nature.”

Karhi announced on May 5 the suspension of Al Jazeera broadcasts for a period of 45 days. In addition, access to the network’s website from Israel was blocked and its media was seized.

Last week the Tel Aviv-Jaffa District Court validated the rule, but reduced its application period to 35 days, so the deadline had already been met, but the new Government announcement delays the possibility of resuming the emissions.