Israel Bans iPad Imports, Directs Customs to Confiscate Devices

Israel has banned iPad imports and directed custom officials to confiscate devices from people bringing them into the country, according to Haaretz.

The decision follows the refusal of the Communication Ministry's engineering staff to compromise on testing the device's suitability and compliance with Israeli wireless networks. It seems however that the engineers made their decision without notifying Communications Minister Moshe Kahlon in advance - and caused an uproar within the ministry.

"The iPad device sold exclusively today in the United States operates at broadcast power levels [over its WiFi modem] compatible with American standards," explained the officials. "As the Israeli regulations in the area of WiFi are similar to European standards, which are different from American standards, which permit broadcasting at lower power, therefore the broadcast levels of the device prevent approving its use in Israel," said the officials.


The Communication Ministry has requested more information about the iPad from Apple's Israeli distributor, iDigital, so as to approve importing iPads.

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