Israeli court approves ban on Al Jazeera broadcasts

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Jul 26. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Tel Aviv District Court has accepted the government’s request to ban the broadcasts of the pan-Arab news channel Al Jazeera, which it has accused of carrying out a “genuine violation of state security.”

The court ruling said there was sufficient evidence to show that content broadcast by the news network had incited terrorist attacks, including a fatal stabbing in late March in southern Israel and “attacks” in Jerusalem.

“Therefore, this is a real threat to state security, although it does not necessarily imply an intention to cause harm on the part of the channel,” the Tel Aviv court’s ruling said, according to The Times of Israel.

The judge’s ruling also mentions a broadcast in which Al Jazeera showed Israeli missiles landing in the Gaza Strip, “providing the exact location of the impact, for the convenience of any terrorists in the area.”

The court also cited a video published by the pan-Arab channel in which he gave instructions on how to damage a tank with proximity explosives.

The Israeli government initially suspended Al Jazeera’s broadcasts, blocked its website, confiscated its equipment and closed its offices in early May, citing a law passed shortly before that allowed foreign media to be intervened in the event of possible national security violations.

The Knesset is in the process of converting the so-called Al Jazeera Law — emergency legislation — into permanent law, after passing a preliminary reading earlier this week.