The Israeli government approved, on Sunday, a proposal from Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi to ban the Lebanese channel Al-Mayadeen, according to a statement from the minister's office. Following the government's decision, Karhi signed orders to confiscate the channel's equipment and block its websites.
The Israeli government had previously banned the channel's broadcasts and activities in Israel last November, at the beginning of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, a decision that remained in effect until a few weeks ago. With the end of the previous decree, Karhi moved to issue a new decision from the government after obtaining a "professional opinion" from security authorities and the approval of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The ban on the channel was announced based on "emergency regulations approved by the government to prevent any foreign broadcasting entity from compromising state security, and after receiving supportive opinions from all security agencies and the Minister of Defense's approval regarding the actual harm to state security."
It was noted that "under the emergency regulations, the Communications Minister may, with the approval of the Cabinet, order a decree to close offices, confiscate broadcasting equipment, and prevent the use of different communication infrastructure for the broadcasting entity in ways that harm state security."
