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UN stands up for press freedom, spokesman says

A free press provides an invaluable service to ensure that the public is informed and engaged, Stephane Dujarric said

UNITED NATIONS, May 6. /TASS/. The UN strongly opposes any restrictions on the work of the press, UN Secretary-General's spokesman Stephane Dujarric told TASS.

Commenting on the decision of the Israeli authorities to ban the work of Qatar’s Al Jazeera in the country, the spokesman said: "As we have said before, we stand firmly against any decision to roll back freedom of the press. A free press provides an invaluable service to ensure that the public is informed and engaged."

Earlier, the Israeli government decided to shut down the Al Jazeera TV channel in the country. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the decision was taken unanimously by the government and slammed the channel's activities as provocative. According to the Kan state broadcaster, the vote to ban Al Jazeera was scheduled to take place a few days ago at a meeting of the military cabinet, but was postponed due to concerns that the decision could negatively affect the course of negotiations for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

On April 1, the Israeli Knesset (parliament) passed a law allowing the communications minister, with the approval of the prime minister, to issue a decree to close foreign media outlets in Israel if their activities negatively affect state security. The minister is also authorized to close their offices, restrict access to their websites, and confiscate their equipment.

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