Ministry plans to file new request to extend temporary ban on Al Jazeera in Israel

The Communications Ministry tells the Al Jazeera news network that Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi intends to file a new request with the cabinet to extend the temporary ban on the channel’s broadcasts in Israel and local access to its website.

In a letter to Al Jazeera, the ministry director says the security agencies continue to believe that the channel poses a threat to national security, as determined before the original May 5 order shuttering the outlet, and that Karhi has therefore decided to request the extension of the ban.

The current ban expires at midnight on Saturday night, but the communications minister is entitled to request that it be extended by 45 days or less, until the temporary law expires on July 31 — at which point the legislation would need to be renewed to continue to remain in effect.

Karhi originally ordered Al Jazeera to be shuttered for 45 days, but the Tel Aviv-Jaffa District Court reduced that period to 35 days on Tuesday.

Since the order now expires on Saturday night, Karhi would not have time to obtain renewed authorization from the cabinet, as required by the law, to extend the ban, since the cabinet is only scheduled to convene on Sunday morning.

The minister has therefore requested from the court that it change its decision to allow for the current ban to expire on Sunday night, in order to give the cabinet time to approve the extension before the original order expires.