The Palestinian Authority announced on Wednesday that it would temporarily bar Al Jazeera from operating in its areas, accusing the Qatari-funded broadcaster of “inciting sedition” and “interfering in internal Palestinian affairs.” The move comes several months after the news outlet was banned by Israel on national security grounds.
WAFA, the Palestinian government’s official media arm, said Al Jazeera — one of the Arab world’s most influential broadcasters — must immediately shutter its local offices and “freeze all the work of its journalists.” The ban would last until the channel had “corrected its legal status,” the announcement said.
Palestinian officials did not provide detailed examples of how Al Jazeera had broken any local laws. The Palestinian Authority administers some areas in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including major Palestinian cities.
Al Jazeera denounced the Palestinian decision, calling it “an attempt to prevent coverage of the escalating events witnessed in the occupied territories.” The channel broadcast footage of Palestinian security officers handing the order to one of its journalists.
“From this moment, any broadcast or activities are forbidden,” an officer said.
Palestinian critics and human rights groups have charged the Palestinian Authority with launching an increasingly authoritarian crackdown on dissent, violently assaulting demonstrators and intimidating critics of Mahmoud Abbas, the authority’s president.
The decision was the latest blow to Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza in recent months.
Article by:Source
