The Israeli Communications Regulatory Authority on Sunday extended the ban on Al Jazeera's operations in Israel for another 45 days, following the Cabinet's agreement that the channel's broadcasts pose a security threat. Last week, a court in Tel Aviv upheld an initial 35-day ban on Al Jazeera's activities in Israel, imposed by the government for national security reasons, which ended yesterday.
In a separate ruling regarding an appeal filed by Al Jazeera against the closure, the Israeli Supreme Court described the action against the Qatar-backed channel as a "precedent." The Israeli government has until August 8 to submit its arguments "regarding the reason for not determining that the law preventing foreign broadcasting entities from harming national security" is invalid.
Court documents revealed that Al Jazeera informed the court that it does not incite violence or terrorism and that the ban is disproportionate. A comment from the channel, which has criticized Israeli military operations in Gaza, has not yet been obtained.
