Communication minister Shlomo Karhi said Al-Mayadeen TV channel’s websites have been blocked in Israel over “security” concerns JERUSALEM: A Beirut-based, pro-Iranian TV channel’s websites have been blocked in Israel over “security” concerns, an official said on Monday, as the war in Gaza raises worries of a regional conflict. Israel’s Communication Minister Shlomo Karhi said the security Cabinet had approved emergency measures to prevent Al-Mayadeen from harming the state’s security. “Immediately upon the Cabinet approval this morning, I signed the first order to block the Internet sites of Al-Mayadeen in Israel,” Karhi wrote on his Facebook page. “The broadcasts and reporters of Al-Mayadeen serve the despicable terror organizations,” Karhi said. There was no immediate comment from Mayadeen in Lebanon, but the outlet’s Israeli correspondent said she “will abide by the law.” The Israeli minister also requested that the army’s central command chief apply the same measure in the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian production company working with Mayadeen in the occupied West Bank announced they had cut ties with the Lebanese channel. A spokesman for Karhi said that Mayadeen television could not be blocked since it was broadcast via satellite, but officials intended to prohibit Mayadeen reporters from working in Israel. In a Monday statement, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Mayadeen has “turned into a mouthpiece of Hezbollah.” He accused the Lebanese network’s journalists of “supporting terror while pretending to be reporters.” Last month, Karhi’s office presented the security Cabinet with a plan to close the Israeli operation of Al Jazeera in light of “evidence” the Qatari channel was broadcasting content “that harms national security.” The 27 EU nations have meanwhile jointly condemned Hamas for what they described as the use of hospitals and civilians as “human shields” in the war against Israel. EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said on Monday that at the same time, the bloc asked Israel “for maximum restraint in targeting to avoid human casualties.” At a meeting of the bloc’s foreign affairs ministers, Borrell brandished a statement he issued on behalf of the 27 nations as a show of unity following weeks of often contrasting views on how the group should address the Israel-Hamas war. “You know how difficult it has been the last times, after the vote in the UN, where countries were voted in different ways, to present a completely united approach,” Borrell said.