On May 5, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the closure of the Qatari channel Al-Jazeera on Israeli territory, which the government accused of “threatening the security” of the country. In a ministerial document, the seizure of “equipment used to broadcast the channel’s content” is mentioned. These include cameras, computers, computer servers, microphones, editing tables, as well as transmission equipment. And the director of the channel’s bureau in Israel, Walid al-Omari, explained that this would provoke “the cessation of the broadcast of Al-Jazeera in Israel, in Arabic and English, and the closure of Al-Jazeera offices within the borders of Israel”.
This Wednesday, it is the turn of the Palestinian Authority to suspend the broadcasting and activities of the channel in the Palestinian Territories, accusing it in particular of “incitement to sedition” and “interference” in its affairs, reported the official Wafa news agency, including Le Figaro was echoed. “This decision comes in response to Al Jazeera’s insistence on broadcasting content and reporting characterized by disinformation, incitement to sedition and interference in internal Palestinian affairs”. Al Jazeera broadcast footage this Wednesday evening showing Palestinian Authority police officers bringing an official court document to its journalists in Ramallah.
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The Palestinian Authority, chaired by Mahmoud Abbas, holds partial administrative authority in the West Bank. His Security forces have been involved for several weeks in violent clashes in Jenin with armed factions, which have already left around ten dead. Al Jazeera denounced last week a ” campaign “ of Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement against him in the occupied West Bank: “This campaign follows the channel’s coverage of clashes between security forces and armed resistance in Jenin”explained Al Jazeera, which defended the neutrality of its work. Hamas, Fatah’s great rival, called the suspension “blatant violation of press freedom” and “repressive act intended to silence dissonant voices”.
