Palestinian Authority suspends Al Jazeera in West Bank

The Palestinian Authority says it has suspended the broadcast of prominent Arabic channel Al Jazeera in parts of the occupied West Bank, alleging incitement and bias.

Qatari-owned Al Jazeera expressed shock and denounced the decision as “an attempt to hide the truth about events in the occupied territories.”

He links the closure to news coverage of the recent major crackdown by Palestinian security forces against armed Islamist groups in the Jenin refugee camp, where at least 11 people have been killed.

Al Jazeera, widely watched by Palestinians, particularly for its exhaustive coverage of the Gaza war, has already been blocked in Arabic and English in Israel.

For the second time in months, Al Jazeera has broadcast the scene from its own office in Ramallah as security forces enter and order the closure. Last year, it was Israeli soldiers who attacked and this time the Palestinian police entered.

On Wednesday night, a uniformed officer was shown handing an official order to an Al Jazeera correspondent, who reads and signs it.

Fatah, the Palestinian faction that dominates the Palestinian Authority (PA), has accused the Al Jazeera network of sowing division in “our Arab homeland in general and in Palestine in particular.” Al Jazeera insists it is impartial.

The Palestinian Authority, which cooperates with Israel on security, is increasingly unpopular with the Palestinian public and has little control over the urban Jenin refugee camp, historically seen as a stronghold of armed groups.

Since early December, its forces have been fighting members of the Jenin Battalion, most of whom are affiliated with Islamic Jihad, or Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 attack on Israel sparked the war in Gaza.

Analysts say the Palestinian Authority is trying to reassert its authority in the West Bank and demonstrate its potential value to the incoming Trump administration. They suggest that he might also want to show his ability to play a role in the future governance of Gaza.

However, ongoing events have drawn condemnation from many Palestinians.

“Al Jazeera has successfully maintained its professionalism throughout its coverage of the events unfolding in Jenin,” it said in a statement earlier this week.

According to the official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, the Al Jazeera network has been deemed to violate Palestinian laws and regulations and its operations have been temporarily suspended. The stoppage order applies to all the work of its journalists and staff.

The network is accused of broadcasting “inciting materials” and “misleading reports” that “provoke conflicts and interfere in Palestinian internal affairs,” Wafa said.

Israel’s parliament voted to close Al Jazeera in Israel last May, saying it threatened national security. Israeli police then raided a Jerusalem hotel room used by Al Jazeera for broadcasting and some of its equipment was confiscated. The channel’s Arab staff moved to the West Bank.

In September, Israeli troops ordered the closure of Al Jazeera’s office in Ramallah, West Bank, for 45 days, claiming it was being used to support terrorist activities.

Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have often accused Al Jazeera of being a mouthpiece for Hamas.

Israel also accused Al Jazeera staff in Gaza of belonging to the Islamist group. In July, the Israeli military killed Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera reporter in Gaza City, alleging that he was a member of Hamas’s armed wing. Al Jazeera strongly rejects all allegations.

There is also a long history of hostility between Al Jazeera and the Palestinian Authority, with some PA officials accusing it of showing support for Hamas, a political rival of Fatah.

In 2011, Al Jazeera’s publication of the so-called Palestine Papers, a leak of confidential files detailing years of negotiations between Israel and Palestinian teams, embarrassed Palestinian Authority officials who accused the network of distortion. The documents purported to show offers of major concessions to Israel.

Some Palestinian journalists have criticized the Palestinian Authority’s decision to ban Al Jazeera, saying it comes against a backdrop of an increasingly authoritarian crackdown on dissent. The Foreign Press Association expressed “serious concern” about the action, saying it “raises serious questions about press freedom and democratic values ​​in the region.”