The Palestinian Authority announced further restrictions against Al Jazeera on Wednesday evening, suspending the Qatari state-owned network’s broadcasts throughout Judea and Samaria and banning its journalists from operating in all areas under the control of the P.A.
Ramallah decided to block Al Jazeera and “suspend the work [permits] of all journalists, employees, crews and channels affiliated with it,” Wafa, the Palestinian Authority’s official news outlet, announced.
This move came after Al Jazeera aired “incitement and false reports that stir internal unrest and interfere in internal Palestinian affairs,” it added.
The Qatari station condemned the move, writing in a statement on Thursday morning that it considers the ban on its TV broadcasts “nothing but an attempt to dissuade the channel from covering the rapidly escalating events taking place in the occupied territories.
“The decision to freeze Al Jazeera‘s work and prevent its journalists from conducting their duties is an attempt to hide the truth about events in the occupied territories,” the Al Jazeera statement added, urging the Palestinian Authority to “immediately retract and cancel the decision.”
Last month, the P.A.'s ruling party banned Al Jazeera from operating in northern Samaria over its glorification of Iranian-backed terror groups.
Fatah said it banned the channel from broadcasting from Samaria’s Jenin Governorate, where the majority of the territory is controlled by the P.A., while urging Palestinians to boycott the Qatari network.
Ramallah accused Al Jazeera of playing a “dangerous role” through its coverage of the ongoing clashes between P.A. forces and Iranian-backed terrorists in the city of Jenin. In a statement quoted by local media, Fatah blamed Al Jazeera for “discord” among Palestinians.
Al Jazeera in a subsequent statement condemned what it said was a “campaign of incitement” against the channel and its Jenin reporter, Mohamad Atrash, over the coverage of clashes between the P.A. and Iranian-backed Palestinian “resistance fighters” in northern Samaria.
JNS sought comment from the U.S. Department of State on Wednesday evening regarding the P.A.'s move, but did not hear back by press time.
On May 6, Matthew Miller, the U.S. State Department spokesman, said Washington was “quite concerned” by Israel’s decision to close down Al Jazeera‘s operations in the Jewish state due to its support for terrorism.
“We have made quite clear that we support media freedom all around the world, including in Israel,” Miller stated. “We think Al Jazeera ought to be able to operate in Israel, as it does in other countries in the region.”
Israel’s decision to outlaw Al Jazeera was preceded by similar moves by Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt.
On Sept. 22, Israeli soldiers served Al Jazeera’s office in the Samaria city of Ramallah with a temporary closure order, which Hamas condemned.
Al Jazeera “is a media outlet that disseminates false content, which includes incitement against Israelis and Jews and constitutes a threat to IDF soldiers,” Nitzan Chen, the director of Israel’s Government Press Office, which is part of the Prime Minister’s Office, said in September.
