Court approves state’s request to ban Al Jazeera from broadcasting in Israel

The Tel Aviv District Court has accepted the state’s request to ban Al Jazeera from broadcasting in Israel, calling it “a real violation of state security.”

The ruling states that there was enough evidence to show that content broadcast on the Qatari news network had incited terror attacks including a fatal stabbing in the south of Israel in March and “attacks in East Jerusalem.”

“This is, therefore, a real danger to the state’s security, although it doesn’t necessarily imply an intent to cause harm on the part of the channel,” the ruling reads.

The judge’s ruling also notes an Al Jazeera live feed broadcast from Gaza this month that showed Israeli missiles landing in the Strip, “providing the exact location of impact, for the convenience of any terrorist who happens to be in the area,” and an instructional video that was aired on how to damage a tank with a proximity charge.

Al Jazeera’s broadcasts in Israel were first taken off the air, its website taken offline, its equipment seized and its offices sealed on May 5 in accordance with an emergency law passed in April allowing for foreign outlets deemed violating national security to be temporarily blocked.

It is the only outlet against which the law has been enacted.

The Knesset is in the process of turning the so-called Al Jazeera Law into permanent legislation, passing a preliminary reading earlier this week.

Jeremy Sharon contributed to this report.