Israel blocked access on Monday to about 1,700 websites displaying pedophile pictures and videos, the Justice Ministry said.

The action was taken by the State Prosecutor following a joint operation by the cyber-crime department, police and Interpol, the Ministry said in a statement.

"The Tel Aviv court has ordered the blocking of access to about 1,700 websites displaying pedophile photos and films that were available on Israeli portals," it said.

In May, Interpol said it had broken up an international network of pedophiles connected to the dark web.

Israel's Justice Ministry said it had acted on information from Interpol.

Internet service providers will be required to block access to the websites or else face sanctions, it added.