Communications Minister Shlomo Kari sharply attacked the legal advisor to the government, Gali Baharav Mayara, at noon (Thursday), after she criticized the confiscation of the AP news agency's equipment a few days ago.
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Kari said: "The legal advisor is wrong, unimportant and uninformative.".
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He added: "The Knesset enacted a clear law, the government approved precise orders, and even the all-powerful legal advisor does not have the authority to turn night into day and day into night. So she can demand whatever she wants, but as soon as there is a danger to our soldiers from a broadcasting organization that transmits to Al Jazeera, we will act in the same way, according to the law.".
He emphasized: "From now on, we will make sure we have documentation of the inspection with the Ministry of Defense, so that it does not fold and retract due to pressure, or issue a false statement to journalists about not consulting with it, because of the weak and cowardly position of its head.".
Earlier, the attorney general criticized the decision to confiscate the news agencies' equipment, equipment that was eventually returned to the AP.
In addition, the attorney general clarified that due to the confiscation, she requires professionals to inform her before any action under the Al Jazeera Law.
As reported by Haredim 10, after Ministry of Communications inspectors, accompanied by the Israel Police, raided the AP agency's compound in the city of Sderot on Tuesday and confiscated photographic equipment that provides service to the Al Jazeera channel, the Minister of Communications announced the return of the equipment.
Kari's office said at the time: "The Communications Ministry acted today to confiscate equipment that, despite repeated warnings, transmitted broadcasts to Al-Gezira about the locations of our forces in the northern Gaza Strip, putting them at risk, in accordance with the security opinion and the government's decision.".
""I have now ordered the operation to be canceled and the equipment returned to the AP Agency, until a different decision is made by the Ministry of Defense.".
