Israel’s High Court of Justice has accepted an appeal against the so-called “Al Jazeera Law” passed by the Knesset last month.
Knesset Passes Law to Close Qatar’s Al Jazeera Network in Israel
The Court ordered the State of Israel to respond to a petition calling for repeal of the law.
Israel’s Knesset passed the bill granting senior ministers the power to ban foreign news networks deemed a security risk, such as the Qatar-owned Al Jazeera, this past April.
Alongside the order of the Court, Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi signed an order extending the closure of the Al Jazeera channel in Israel for another 45 days. The decision was made unanimously by the government, based on opinions from security officials, Ynet reported.
“We will not allow the terrorist channel Al Jazeera to broadcast from Israel and endanger our fighters,” Karhi said.
“In light of the severity of the damage to the security of the country by the channel, I am convinced that the closure orders will be extended in the future as well. The Minister of Communications has the authority to act against foreign broadcasters that harm the security of the country.”
Even as the notoriously left-wing Court works to de-fang the law passed by the Knesset, Hamas itself has managed to provide the evidence to the continued ban on Al Jazeera.
Israeli Hostage Noa Argamani was Held Captive by Alleged Al Jazeera Journalist
One of the hostages rescued on Saturday – Noa Argamani – was held captive separately in the apartment of an Al Jazeera photojournalist and writer and his family, according to the Open Source Intelligence Monitor and other sources.
The journalist, Abdallah Aljamal, was also employed as a spokesperson for the Hamas-run Gaza Labor Ministry, and worked for the US-based anti-Israel Palestine Chronicle nonprofit organization.
The building in which Argamani was held was near that in which three other hostages were held. All were rescued simultaneously.
