The Palestinian Authority (PA) on Wednesday suspended the broadcasting of Al Jazeera TV after accusing the news service of publishing “inciting material”, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.
A ministerial committee made up of the communications, culture and interior ministries published a statement regarding the announcement, accusing Al Jazeera of violating the “laws and regulations in force in Palestine” and saying it “decided to temporarily stop the broadcast and freeze all the work of its journalists, employees, crews and channels affiliated with it”.
“This decision came after Al Jazeera insisted on broadcasting inciteful materials and reports characterised by being misleading, inciting sedition, and interference in Palestinian internal affairs,” the statement reads.
The ban would be in effect in the occupied West Bank, where the PA is currently in power. In May 2024, Israel also implemented a ban on Al Jazeera’s website in the country after raiding its office in East Jerusalem and confiscating its equipment.
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In September, Israeli forces raided Al Jazeera’s office in the West Bank city of Ramallah and ordered it to shut down operations.
The ban on Al Jazeera TV comes as Fatah, the political faction that controls the PA, has come into conflict with the news agency’s coverage of the West Bank. Fatah has accused Al Jazeera of sowing division in “our Arab homeland in general and in Palestine in particular”.
Last week, the Qatari state broadcaster was criticised by the PA over its coverage of the PA security forces’ attacks on Palestinian fighters in the Jenin refugee camp inside of the occupied West Bank.
As Al Jazeera continued its coverage of the assault on Jenin, Fatah threatened Al Jazeera’s operations in the occupied West Bank, accusing the network of biased reporting.
Fatah said that Al Jazeera was feeding “the media space with lies, especially in Palestine, where it sides with a group of lawless individuals and thugs in Jenin camp, attempting to portray them as heroes resisting occupation”.
Al Jazeera quickly condemned Fatah’s statement.
“Al Jazeera was and will remain a platform for opinion and other opinions, covering events with professionalism and credibility,” the network said in response.
The network emphasised its commitment to balanced reporting, saying that while it aired the voices of anti-occupation fighters, it also gave the Palestinian security forces equal representation.
Palestinian Authority’s assault on Jenin
Over the past few weeks, the PA says it has been working to root out anti-occupation forces inside Jenin, leading to escalating attacks on Palestinians there.
On 14 December, the PA launched an operation in the Jenin camp, which has long served as a popular base of support for Palestinian armed groups, including the Islamic Jihad-led Jenin Brigades, which maintains that the PA’s campaign serves Israeli desires to pacify the West Bank and shut down hubs of resistance to the occupation.
The operation is being overseen by the security coordinator between Israel and the PA, and the Biden administration requested that Israel approve US military assistance to the PA for the campaign.
Last month, PA forces killed Yazid Ja’ayseh, a Jenin Brigades leader who was reportedly wanted by the Israeli military.
During its attacks on Jenin, PA forces also killed 21-year-old journalist Shatha al-Sabbagh, who was active in documenting the PA’s operation. Sabbagh was shot in the head by a sniper with the PA forces, her family said.
The PA has denied involvement in the killing of the journalist.
