The Palestinian Authority has ordered the suspension of broadcasts by Al Jazeera in a move the Qatar-based television network condemned on Thursday as reminiscent of Israeli practices.
The German foreign ministry described the move as “deeply worrying” while the UN human rights office called on the PA to “reverse course and respect its international law obligations”.
Al Jazeera is already banned from broadcasting from Israel amid a long-running feud with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
In September, masked Israeli troops raided the Al Jazeera office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, seat of the Palestinian Authority, to issue an initial 45-day closure order, in a move the PA foreign ministry slammed as “a flagrant violation” of press freedom at the time.
On Thursday, the PA insisted its own suspension order was “temporary”, adding its decision followed a complaint from the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate about the network’s coverage.
“These measures shall be applied until Al Jazeera chooses to act in accordance with basic media ethics, including its duty to prevent deliberate disinformation, ban the glorification of violence and end the incitement to armed mutiny,” the PA said.
The syndicate, which represents about 3,000 Palestinian journalists, said several had filed complaints against Al Jazeera for “biased media coverage on its platforms, including incitement, misleading reports and content that stirs internal discord”.
The suspension order involves “temporarily freezing the work of all journalists, employees, crews and affiliated channels until their legal status is rectified”, the official news agency Wafa reported.
Al Jazeera aired images of what appeared to be Palestinian security officers entering the network’s office in Ramallah and handing over the suspension order.
The network condemned the decision, saying it “aligns with Israeli occupation practices targeting its media teams”.
It accused the PA, which has limited administrative control in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, of “attempting to deter Al Jazeera from covering escalating events in the occupied Palestinian territories”, including in the northern West Bank.
PA security forces have been engaged in weeks of deadly clashes with militants in the northern town of Jenin and its adjacent refugee camp.
– Tensions over coverage –
The ban on Al-Jazeera drew condemnation from press freedom organisations and the UN human rights office.
“We are deeply concerned by Palestinian Authority’s suspension of Al Jazeera operations and reporters in the West Bank, amid troubling trend of suppressing freedom of opinion and expression,” the UN office posted on X.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) described the ban as an “unacceptable act of censorship” while the Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem called on the Palestinian Authority to “reconsider its decision immediately”.
The German foreign ministry said press freedom was “a precious asset”.
“Free reporting must also be guaranteed in conflict situations,” it said.
Militant group Hamas, rivals of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas’s Fatah movement which dominates the PA, said the ban went against Palestinian interests.
“We call on the Palestinian Authority to immediately reverse this decision,” Hamas said in a statement.
“It is crucial to ensure the continuation of media coverage that exposes the (Israeli) occupation and supports the steadfastness of our people.”
Tensions between Fatah and Al Jazeera have risen in recent weeks following the channel’s coverage of the clashes in Jenin.
In late December, the channel condemned what it said was an “incitement campaign” by Fatah against the network in some areas of the occupied West Bank.
“This campaign follows the network’s coverage of clashes between Palestinian security forces and resistance fighters in Jenin,” it said in a statement at the time.
Since early December, PA security forces have clashed repeatedly with fighters of the Jenin Battalion, most of whom are affiliated with Hamas whose October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war, or with its ally Islamic Jihad.
Fatah’s rivals have accused the PA security forces of collaborating with the Israeli army.
Al Jazeera continues to work in Gaza, where Hamas seized control in 2007.
The violence in Jenin refugee camp, a militant stronghold that has seen frequent raids by the Israeli army, has killed 11 people, including civilians as well as combattants.