According to Palestinian official news agency Wafa, Al Jazeera’s operations have been temporarily suspended by the Palestinian Authority (PA) due to “inciting material.”
According to Wafa, a ministerial committee made the decision to suspend the broadcaster’s operations on Wednesday due to what they termed “inciting material and reports that were deceiving and stirring strife” in the nation.
Al Jazeera Media Network did not respond right away.
The decision comes after Fatah, the Palestinian faction that controls the PA, forbade Al Jazeera to report from Jenin, a governorate in the northern occupied West Bank, citing its coverage of clashes between Palestinian security forces and Palestinian armed groups there.
On December 24, Fatah accused the broadcaster of “sowing division” in “our Arab homeland in general and in Palestine in particular” and urged Palestinians to refuse to cooperate with the network.
The network criticized Fatah for its coverage of the clashes, claiming that it had launched an “incitement campaign” against the network and its West Bank journalists.
Palestinians in the West Bank criticized the raids by Palestinian security forces, according to Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut, who was based in Amman, Jordan.
Salhut claimed that the PA has increased its own raids, which are independent of Israeli forces, in the last four weeks. “These crackdowns in places like Jenin have killed several Palestinians”, she said.
‘ A big mistake ‘
Mustafa Barghouti, the secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, said Palestinians would be “astonished at this decision” to suspend Al Jazeera broadcasts.
According to Barghouti, who is based in Ramallah, “I think this decision should be reversed as soon as possible.”
He said, “If the PA has an issue with Al Jazeera, it should talk about it,” especially given that Al Jazeera has been [promoting the Palestinian cause in general and has been exposing the crimes against the Palestinians.”
“But more than that, it is an issue of freedom of … the press”, Barghouti said.
After they raided the outlet’s bureau in Ramallah, the West Bank city, the PA is based, Israeli forces issued an military command in September to halt operations.
Meanwhile, the PA, which engages in security coordination with Israel, has continued its crackdown in Jenin – a stronghold for armed groups opposing Israel’s occupation.
Since the start of “Operation Protect the Homeland,” several civilians, PA soldiers, and armed fighters have died, including Jenin Brigades commander Yazid Ja’ayseh.
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