Palestinian Authority suspends Al Jazeera TV channel in West Bank

The Palestinian Authority said it has suspended broadcasts by the popular Arab channel Al Jazeera in parts of the occupied West Bank, citing propaganda and discrimination.

Al Jazeera in Qatar was shocked and criticized the decision as “an attempt to hide the truth about what is happening in the occupied territories”.

It joins the closure of the news of the recent serious violation of the Palestinian army with Islamic weapons in the prison of Jenin in which at least 11 people have been killed.

Al Jazeera, which is targeted by Palestinians mainly for its coverage of the Gaza conflict, has already been suspended in Arabic and English in Israel.

For the second time in months, Al Jazeera has broadcast what is happening inside its office in Ramallah as security forces enter and order it closed. Last year, it was the Israeli army that attacked and this time, the Palestinian police intervened.

On Wednesday evening, a uniformed police officer was shown handing the order to an Al Jazeera reporter who read it and signed it.

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

The PA, which is allied with Israel on security, is still at odds with the Palestinians and is unable to control the refugee camp in the city of Jenin, which was once seen as a military stronghold.

Since the beginning of December, his soldiers have been fighting the Jenin Battalion, most of whom are affiliated with Islamic Jihad or Hamas, whose 7 October 2023 attack on Israel started the war in Gaza.

Analysts say the PA is trying to regain control of the West Bank and prove its worth to the incoming Trump administration. They said he may also want to demonstrate his ability to participate in the future governance of Gaza.

However, these developments have drawn criticism from many Palestinians.

“Al Jazeera has maintained its professionalism in reporting what is happening in Jenin,” it said in a statement earlier this week.

According to the Palestinian news agency, Wafa, the Al Jazeera network has been found to be in violation of Palestinian laws and regulations and its operations have been temporarily suspended. The suspension order applies to all activities of journalists and their employees.

The network is accused of publishing “propaganda materials” and “misleading reports” that “inflame conflicts and distort the internal affairs of Palestine,” Wafa said.

Israel’s parliament voted to close Al Jazeera in Israel last May, saying it posed a threat to national security. Israeli police raided a Jerusalem hotel room used by Al Jazeera for broadcasting and confiscated some of its equipment. Arab workers on the route moved to the West Bank.

In September, the Israeli military ordered Al Jazeera’s office in Ramallah in the West Bank to close for 45 days, saying it was being used to support terrorists.

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

Israel has also accused Al Jazeera staff in Gaza of belonging to the Islamist group. In July, Israeli forces killed Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera reporter in Gaza City, claiming he was a member of the militant group Hamas. Al Jazeera strongly denies all the allegations.

There is also a long history of hostility between Al Jazeera and the PA, with some PA officials accusing it of supporting Hamas, Fatah’s political rival.

In 2011, Al Jazeera’s publication of the so-called Palestine Papers, a leak of secret files detailing years of negotiations between Israel and Palestinian factions, embarrassed PA officials who blamed the network for corruption. The documents are said to show significant contributions to Israel.

Some Palestinian journalists criticized the PA’s decision to ban Al Jazeera, saying it comes against the backdrop of growing persecution of its opponents. The Foreign Press Association expressed “deep concern” over the incident saying it “raises questions about press freedom and democratic principles in the region.”