Netanyahu banned ministers from talking about Kurdish referendum -- report

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly instructed ministers in his government to avoid speaking out about the Kurdish independence referendum that is taking place in the Kurdish autonomous region in northern Iraq.

The Prime Minister’s Office and Foreign Ministry would not confirm or comment on the purported gag order, but top officials, speaking anonymously, acknowledged the order.

Earlier this month, Netanyahu publicly backed Kurdish independence, while distancing himself from comments by a retired Israeli general, who said he did not consider the PKK, or Kurdistan Workers Party, a terror group.