The Palestinian Authority has ordered the suspension of broadcasts by Al Jazeera across the Palestinian territories, accusing the network of incitement [Getty]
Ramallah Magistrate’s Court issued a decision on Sunday to block a number of websites affiliated with the Al Jazeera news channel for a period of four months.
The blocked sites include “Al Jazeera Net”, “Al Jazeera Live”, “Al Jazeera 360”, and “AJ+” according to the decision, made under cybercrime law which permits the blocking of websites deemed to “threaten national security or public order”.
According to the decision, Al Jazeera‘s websites had published material which “threatened the national security of the State of Palestine” and “incited the committing of crimes”.
Following the decision, Palestinian Attorney General Akram Al-Khatib sent an official letter to the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Abdul Razzaq Al Natsha, requesting the full implementation of the court’s decision.
The move is the latest in a series of actions targeting the Qatari-owned media channel amid accusations of incitement made against Al Jazeera and its employees by Fatah – the Palestinian faction which dominates the Palestinian Authority (PA).
The accusations coincide with the PA’s ongoing military operation against Palestinian fighters in Jenin, which has so far left eight Jenin camp residents dead, as well as six PA security force personnel.
Sources have indicated that one reason for the PA’s anger at Al Jazeera was the channel’s refusal to label fighters from the Jenin Battalion as “outlaws,” as claimed by the PA, as well as their broader coverage of the PA’s crackdown on the resistance group.
The move means Al Jazeera – widely watched by Palestinians, particularly for its extensive coverage of the Gaza war – is now banned in both Israel and the occupied West Bank.
Head of the Youth Against Settlement Gathering, Issa Amr, warned prior to the court decision that closing Al Jazeera and restricting the freedoms of its correspondents would greatly affect its coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza as well as the war waged by settlers and Israel on the occupied West Bank.
After the PA suspended the channel operations in the West Bank last Wednesday, before the court decision was issued, he commented that the closure came at a critical period, in which Israel was implementing the policy of annexing the occupied West Bank.
This article is based on an article which appeared in our Arabic edition by Naela Khalil on 5 January 2025. To read the original article click here.
