The Palestinian authorities have suspended the broadcast of Qatar-based Al Jazeera TV, accusing it of airing “provocative content.” According to Reuters, this temporary suspension does not apply to the Gaza Strip, which is under Hamas control and outside the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority.
The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported on Wednesday that the suspension is due to the “misleading and divisive” nature of Al Jazeera’s content. However, no further details were provided. WAFA added that the decision was made jointly by the Palestinian Authority’s ministers of culture, interior, and communications.
The suspension order did not specify when the temporary ban might be lifted.
The decision comes after the Palestinian Authority criticized Al Jazeera’s coverage of a week-long tension in the Jenin refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank between Palestinian security forces and armed fighters.
In response, Al Jazeera condemned the move, calling it an attempt to “discourage reporting on ongoing events in the occupied territories.” The network urged the Palestinian authorities to revoke the decision and allow journalists in the West Bank to report freely without fear.
Meanwhile, this suspension is not expected to be enforced in Gaza, where the Palestinian Authority has no jurisdiction.
The Fatah-led Palestinian Authority has also accused Al Jazeera of “sowing division within the Arab homeland in general and Palestine in particular” and has urged Palestinians not to support the network.
Previously, in September last year, the Israeli military raided Al Jazeera’s bureau in Ramallah in the West Bank, ordering its closure. Earlier, in May, Israel issued a ban on the network’s operations in the country, citing it as a “threat to Israeli security.” The ban was later upheld by an Israeli court.