Israeli Arabs are to have a dedicated Arab-language television channel for the first time.

Arab audiences in Israel have long had access to satellite channels including al-Jazeera, while Israel's state television channel includes several hours of Arabic content each day.

The Israeli Communications Ministry said that the new station, to be called Hala TV, would go live in three months.

The announcement was praised as "an important step forward in increasing the visibility of the Arab citizens of Israel" by Jafar Farah of the Mossawa Centre, an Arab advocacy organisation.