Netanyahu seeks lawsuits against journalists reporting details from cabinet meetings
The Israeli press reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has requested that lawsuits be filed against journalists who publish details of the Israeli Security and Political Affairs Ministerial Council (Cabinet) meetings without authorization.
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Israeli state television KAN reported that the Prime Minister's office has demanded that journalists be prevented from publishing details of discussions held during cabinet meetings and that lawsuits be filed against those who quote from the meetings.
The report stated, "On the other hand, journalists will not be granted immunity unless approval for publication censorship is obtained. It has emerged that Netanyahu has also begun to restrict the authority of the censor."
LAWSUITS TO BE FILED AGAINST THOSE WHO LEAK MEETING CONTENT
The report noted that Israel's Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara is expected to oppose the filing of lawsuits against journalists who quote from cabinet meetings on the grounds that there is no appropriate legal basis for doing so. It was reported that legal action should be taken against those who leak the content, referring to the ministers attending the meetings, rather than the journalists who quote from them.
The report emphasized that a meeting on the subject will be held soon, without specifying who will participate.
It was stated that "Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu called for a law in November 2023 that would limit the discretion of military oversight during wartime in a way that would lead to large-scale bans on publications."
The report stated, "According to Netanyahu, the Military Censor Unit approves publications that harm state security, and Netanyahu has been angry about this situation since the start of the conflicts. In December 2023, Netanyahu called on Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi and the heads of security agencies to take action against the Military Censor Unit."
Including a statement from the Israeli Journalists Union, the report said, "The Prime Minister's proposal to allow lawsuits against journalists for their legitimate reporting is a clear warning sign on the path to a serious attack on press freedom."
NETANYAHU CAMP REMAINS SILENT
The union's statement included the following:
"In a wartime environment, the Prime Minister's office is promoting an anti-democratic approach that is unprecedented in democratic countries and would seriously damage press freedom, ostensibly using security issues as a pretext."
The report stated that the union declared, "If the Prime Minister thinks there is a problem with leaks (at the meetings), he should deal with his accomplices (the ministers), not the journalists doing their jobs."
Meanwhile, no statement was made by Netanyahu's office regarding the subject of the KAN report.