# Israel: a court bars any mention of the 'Prisoner X' case

Published 2026-09-23. Last reviewed 2026-09-22. 3 sources.

Status: in effect, as of 2026-09-22.

What we don't know: The source reviewed does not state when or how the domestic order was eventually narrowed or lifted.

An Israeli judge ordered Israeli media barred from any mention of a prisoner held under a false identity, or of the order itself, applying a system under which security-related stories must be reviewed and cleared by the military before publication.[1][2][3]

- Country: [Israel](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/il) (RSF 2026 rank: 116th of 180)
- Where: Israel
- Level of government: National
- Tactic: Prior restraint
- Stage: Silence (ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/prior_restraint#stage-silence)
- Ladder note: A court order barred any domestic mention of a named prisoner's case or of the order itself, backed by a standing system requiring advance approval of security reporting.
- Head of government at the time: [Benjamin Netanyahu](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/benjamin-netanyahu)
- Issue of the day: The order concerned the custody of a man later identified as Ben Zygier, an Australian-Israeli detained on suspicion of harming state security, whose case Israeli outlets could not report on for years under the order.
- Outcome: Unknown, 1 June 2010. The source reviewed, a 2013 annual survey, documents the order's existence and Israel's wider military review system without stating when the domestic order was resolved.
- Era: The 2010s

## What happened

In June 2010, Israeli district court judge Hila Gerstl issued a court order banning any mention of a prisoner who came to be known publicly only as "Prisoner X," or of the circumstances of his custody, and separately prohibited any mention that the order itself existed. The order operated alongside Israel's long-standing military review system, under which all news publications dealing with security issues must be approved in advance by a military reviewing authority before publication, a standard Israel's High Court has said requires proof that publication would cause imminent, certain and actual harm to state security. Israeli authorities separately maintained an informal Editors' Committee, through which the prime minister's office asked media heads not to publish information described as very embarrassing to a government agency in exchange for advance notice of such information; Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Benn declined to take part, saying the arrangement would turn editors into intelligence assets rather than independent journalists.[1][2][3]

The order remained in force inside Israel for years; the case became publicly known only through international reporting.[1][2][3]

## What reason was given

Not stated in the sources reviewed as a specific published order; Israel's general standard for pre-publication military review, as set by the High Court, requires proof that publication would cause "imminent, certain, and actual harm to state security."[1]

## What changed for reporting

Israeli media were barred from reporting on the prisoner's case at all for years, and could not even acknowledge that a court order existed, while Israel's wider military review system required advance approval for any security-related story.[2]

## Timeline

- 2010-06: Israel: a court bars any mention of the 'Prisoner X' case

## Who acted

| Name | Role in this incident | Office at the time |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Benjamin Netanyahu](https://thewaronnews.com/actors/benjamin-netanyahu) | other | Prime Minister of Israel |
| [Hila Gerstl](https://thewaronnews.com/actors/hila-gerstl) | ordered | Israeli district court judge |

## Outlets and journalists

| Name | Kind | Relation |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Haaretz](https://thewaronnews.com/outlets/haaretz) | outlet | affected |
| [Aluf Benn](https://thewaronnews.com/journalists/aluf-benn) | journalist, Haaretz | affected |

## Sources

1. Attacks on the Press in 2013: Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. https://cpj.org/2014/02/attacks-on-the-press-in-2013-israel-and-the-occupi/ (Committee to Protect Journalists, 2014-02-12).
2. Israel publishes some details as Australian spy mystery deepens. https://www.reuters.com/article/world/israel-publishes-some-details-as-australian-spy-mystery-deepens-idUSBRE91D05P/ (Reuters, 2013-02-14).
3. Spies, lies and intrigue: life and death of Prisoner X. https://www.smh.com.au/national/spies-lies-and-intrigue-life-and-death-of-prisoner-x-20130215-2eih7.html (The Sydney Morning Herald, 2013-02-16).

## Claims cited

[1] Israel's High Court requires proof that publication would cause imminent, certain and actual harm to state security before security-related material can be censored. Quote: "imminent, certain, and actual harm to state security" Source: Committee to Protect Journalists, 2014-02-12. Attacks on the Press in 2013: Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. https://cpj.org/2014/02/attacks-on-the-press-in-2013-israel-and-the-occupi/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/518, checked 2026-09-22.

[2] Haaretz's editor-in-chief declined to join the informal Editors' Committee, saying it would make editors into intelligence assets. Quote: "turn editors into intelligence 'assets'" Source: Committee to Protect Journalists, 2014-02-12. Attacks on the Press in 2013: Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. https://cpj.org/2014/02/attacks-on-the-press-in-2013-israel-and-the-occupi/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/519, checked 2026-09-22.

[3] The judge's order banned any mention of the prisoner or the circumstances of his custody, and of the order itself. Quote: "banning "any mention of Prisoner X or the circumstances of his custody", and even prohibited mention of the order itself" Source: Committee to Protect Journalists, 2014-02-12. Attacks on the Press in 2013: Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. https://cpj.org/2014/02/attacks-on-the-press-in-2013-israel-and-the-occupi/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/584, checked 2026-09-22.

Source page: https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2010-israel-prisoner-x-gag-order. The War On News, CC BY 4.0.