The Palestinian Authority has shut down the operations of Qatar-based news network Al Jazeera in the West Bank, according to local reports.
In a statement, Al Jazeera condemned Fatah, the Palestinian Authority ruling party in the West Bank, for what it described as an “incitement campaign” against the news organization and its reporters.
The ban was instituted by Fatah on Monday following Al Jazeera’s coverage of clashes between Palestinian Authority forces and terrorist fighters in the city of Jenin. According to local reports, the decision was taken after Al Jazeera broadcast news reports referring to the rebels as “resistance fighters.” Five people have reportedly died in the clashes so far.
According to the New Arab, a Qatari-owned, London-based news outlet, Fatah has banned Al Jazeera from a number of cities in the region including Jenin and Tubas. “We have decided to ban Al Jazeera from entering Tubas […], and we call on our people not to engage with this channel in any way,” the outlet quoted a Fatah statement. “This decision comes as a result of the dangerous role played by Al Jazeera in our Arab world in general, and in Palestine in particular, by sowing discord and inciting internal strife, in clear alignment with Zionist-American efforts and agendas hostile to the cause of our Arab nation in general and our Palestinian cause in particular.”
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In a statement, the news org. responded: “Al Jazeera Media Network condemns the incitement campaign initiated by Fatah in the West Bank against Al Jazeera and its journalists, particularly against Al Jazeera correspondent Mohamad Atrash, for covering the clashes between the Palestinian National Security Forces and Palestinian resistance fighters in Jenin.”
The Palestinian Authority are the latest territory in the Middle East to ban Al Jazeera, following in the footsteps of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt and Israel.