Israeli court upholds 35-day ban on Al Jazeera instead of 45 days

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – An Israeli court on Wednesday approved a 35-day ban on the Qatari television Al Jazeera, instead of 45 days requested by Israeli authorities.

Israeli authorities raided the offices of Doha-based Al Jazeera television in Jerusalem on May 5 and confiscated its equipment shortly after a government decision to shut down the broadcaster.

The move came under a law passed by the Knesset (parliament) that allows the communications minister to shut down foreign networks operating in Israel and confiscate their equipment if the country’s defense minister identifies that their broadcasts pose “an actual harm to the state’s security.”

According to the Israeli public broadcaster KAN, Tel Aviv District Court upheld a 35-day ban on Al Jazeera television, instead of the 45 days requested by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi.

The court argued that Al Jazeera was not granted a hearing before the 45-day ban request.

Wednesday’s verdict means that the Israeli ban on Al Jazeera will end on June 9.

It is not yet clear if the Israeli government will appeal the court verdict.

“A hearing was not held for Al Jazeera before Kahri’s decision, which violates administrative law,” Hussein Abu Hussein, a defense lawyer for the Qatari channel, said in statements carried by KAN.

He said the accusations against Al Jazeera amounted to “violations of press freedom and freedom of work.”

A court hearing was held on Tuesday into a petition filed by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel against the foreign broadcaster law, under which Al Jazeera was outlawed.

Al Jazeera condemned the closure of its offices in Israel as a “blatant attack on press freedom.”

The Israeli ban has been widely criticized by international and regional organizations as an assault on media freedom.

Israeli officials have frequently criticized Al Jazeera, particularly for its extensive coverage of the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip.

Israel has continued its brutal onslaught on the Palestinian enclave since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

Nearly 36,600 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority being women and children, and over 83,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Nearly eight months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio