News broadcaster Al-Jazeera has condemned Wednesday’s decision by the Palestinian Authority (PA) to shut down its coverage in the occupied Palestinian territories and accused it of attempting to conceal its ongoing crackdown on Palestinian fighters in Jenin refugee camp.
"Al-Jazeera deplores the PA’s decision to close its office in the West Bank and considers it in line with the occupation’s actions against its staff," it said in on Thursday, expressing "shock" at the move.
The PA earlier this week ordered the closure of the Qatari state broadcaster’s activities across Palestine, accusing it of "misinformation, incitement, sedition and interference in Palestinian internal affairs".
All broadcasts have been suspended and the work of all its journalists and employees has been frozen until further notice.
´¡±ô-´³²¹³ú±ð±ð°ù²¹â€™s critical coverage of the PA’s crackdown on Palestinian fighters in Jenin has angered local officials and played a key role in the authority’s decision to close its office, °®Âþµºâ€™s Arabic sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported on Wednesday.
In early December Palestinian security forces began an operation against the Jenin Brigades, a group that has been engaged in low-level conflict with Israeli forces since the start of the war on Gaza.
The battles have resulted in the deaths of a number of Palestinians and severely disrupted the provision of basic services in the camp, leading the UN’s humanitarian agency to call for an investigation into potential human rights violations.
The controversial operation has triggered protests against the PA in Jenin, leading to clashes with riot police.
Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front of the Liberation of Palestine have all condemned the PA’s actions and called for further protests.
Hamas, a fierce rival to the dominant faction in the PA, Fatah, slammed the decision to ban the broadcaster.
"This decision aligns with a series of recent arbitrary actions taken by the Authority to curtail public rights and freedoms, and to reinforce its security grip on the Palestinian people," it said in a statement.
Al-Jazeera also accused the PA of carrying out an "ongoing campaign of incitement and intimidation" against its journalists and called on authorities to protect their safety.
Online accounts linked to the PA's security apparatus and Fatah have reportedly threatened the network’s reporters in recent days.
"Al-Jazeera calls on the PA to immediately retract and cancel the decision … and to allow it and its teams to cover freely from the West Bank without any threats or intimidation," it said.
The PA’s decision comes several months after Israel banned Al-Jazeera from the country and raided its office in Ramallah.