An Israeli court has confirmed and extended for 35 days the government’s shutdown of Qatar-based television news channel Al Jazeera, AFP quotes the justice ministry as saying.
Al Jazeera, which broadcasts in Arabic and English, went off the air in Israel under an initial 45-day order early last month.
“The Tel Aviv district court confirmed the communications minister’s instructions to stop Al Jazeera channel broadcasts, close its bureaus in Israel, block access to its websites and seize the equipment,” the justice ministry said.
The order, issued on Thursday after a prosecutor’s request for its confirmation and extension, was for an additional 35 days, the ministry said on its website.
The shutdown does not affect broadcasts from the Israeli-occupied West Bank or the Gaza Strip, from where Al Jazeera still covers Israel’s offensive on Gaza.
The government on May 5 approved a decision to ban Al Jazeera from broadcasting in Israel and to close its offices for 45 days. But on June 9 the supreme court, responding to a petition from the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, referred the case to the Tel Aviv district court.
