Ramallah: The Palestinian Authority has ordered the suspension of broadcasts by Qatar-based Al Jazeera across the Palestinian territories, accusing the network of incitement, official media reported.
Al Jazeera is already banned from broadcasting from Israel amid a long-running feud with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
In September, armed and masked Israeli forces also raided the Al Jazeera office in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, saying it was "used to incite terror." The military issued an initial 45-day closure order, prompting the Palestinian foreign ministry to condemn "a flagrant violation" of press freedom.
Late Wednesday, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa said "Al Jazeera's insistence on broadcasting inciting content and reports characterised by misinformation, incitement, sedition and interference in Palestinian internal affairs" led to its suspension.
An Al Jazeera employee contacted by AFP confirmed that the network's office in Ramallah had received a suspension order on Wednesday. "The specialised ministerial committee, comprising the ministries of culture, interior and communications, has decided to suspend broadcasts and freeze all activities of Al Jazeera satellite channel and its office in Palestine," Wafa reported.
"The decision also includes temporarily freezing the work of all journalists, employees, crews and affiliated channels until their legal status is rectified due to Al Jazeera's violations of the laws and regulations in force in Palestine," it said.
The network condemned the decision in a statement, saying it "aligns with Israeli occupation practices targeting its media teams". It accused the Palestinian Authority, which has partial administrative control in the West Bank, of "attempting to deter Al Jazeera from covering escalating events in the occupied Palestinian territories" including in Jenin and its refugee camp.
The PA's security forces have been engaged in weeks of deadly clashes with armed militants in Jenin, in the northern West Bank. Later on Wednesday, the channel aired images of what appeared to be Palestinian security officers entering the network's office in Ramallah and handing over the suspension orders.
Militant group Hamas, rivals of Fatah which dominates the PA, condemned the decision to ban the network. "This decision aligns with a series of recent arbitrary actions taken by the Authority to curtail public rights and freedoms, and to reinforce its security grip on the Palestinian people," Hamas said in a statement.
"We call on the Palestinian Authority to immediately reverse this decision ... It is crucial to ensure the continuation of media coverage that exposes the occupation and supports the steadfastness of our people."
- 'Incitement campaign' -
Islamic Jihad, allied with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, also criticised the decision. "We condemn the authority's decision to close Al Jazeera's office in Palestine when our people and our cause are in dire need to convey their suffering to the world," the group said in a statement.
Tensions between the Doha-based network and the Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas have risen in recent weeks following the channel's coverage of the clashes in Jenin.
In late December, the channel condemned what it said was an "incitement campaign" by Fatah against the network in some areas of the occupied West Bank.
"This campaign follows the network's coverage of clashes between Palestinian security forces and resistance fighters in Jenin," it said in a statement at the time. "During its coverage of the tragic events in Jenin, Al Jazeera ensured the presence of all voices, including those of the resistance fighters and the spokesperson for the Palestinian security forces."
The security forces of the PA have been engaged in deadly clashes with gunmen since early December, triggered by the arrests of several militants. They are fighting members of the Jenin Battalion, most of whom are affiliated with either Islamic Jihad or Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war.
Al Jazeera continues to work in Gaza, where Hamas seized control in 2007. The violence in the Jenin refugee camp, a stronghold of armed groups and a frequent target of Israeli military raids has killed 11 people including PA security personnel, militants and civilians.
