Why Al Jazeera’s broadcast was stopped in Palestine
Last Updated on January 4, 2025 7:22 am
The Palestinian Authority has suspended the broadcast of Qatar’s Al Jazeera TV in Palestine. They have demanded a temporary suspension of the international TV’s broadcast, mainly on the grounds that it broadcasts ‘provocative material’.
However, the decision will not be effective in the besieged Palestinian territory of Gaza. Because although it is part of Palestine, the Palestinian Authority does not govern Gaza. This information was reported by Reuters in a report on Thursday.
The Palestinian news agency Wafa said on Wednesday that the Palestinian Authority has temporarily suspended its activities in the territory, including the broadcast of Al Jazeera television, due to the Qatari TV network’s ‘provocative material’.
The news agency Wafa did not release any further information on the matter. However, the agency said that the Palestinian Authority’s culture, interior and communications ministers jointly decided to close Al Jazeera. They say the Qatari channel’s content is “deceptive and inciting conflict”.
The order to close Al Jazeera said the decision was temporary, but did not specify a date for the temporary order to end.
The Palestinian Authority last week criticised Al Jazeera for its coverage of a week-long standoff between Palestinian security forces and armed militants in the Jenin camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Al Jazeera condemned Wednesday’s decision as “an attempt to discourage reporting on events in the occupied territories”, it said in a statement. It also called on the Palestinian Authority to reverse the decision and allow journalists in the West Bank to report freely without fear.
On the other hand, Fatah, the party that controls the Palestinian Authority, said that the broadcaster (Al Jazeera) was creating divisions in “our Arab homeland in general and Palestine in particular”. Fatah also encouraged Palestinians not to cooperate with the Qatari television network.
Earlier, the Israeli military raided Al Jazeera’s bureau in the West Bank city of Ramallah in September last year and ordered it to close.
Earlier, Israel issued an order in May last year banning the channel from operating and broadcasting in the country (Israel). Israel said at the time that it (Al Jazeera) was a threat to Israeli security. An Israeli court later upheld the ban.