What's behind Palestinian Authority closure of Al Jazeera TV, websites
The Palestinian Authority ordered Al Jazeera's offices in the occupied West Bank to temporarily shut down last Wednesday.
Just months after Israeli soldiers stormed Al Jazeera’s Ramallah offices in a dramatic raid broadcast live that shut them down for 45 days, the channel is facing closure again this week — this time at the hands of Palestinian security forces.
The Palestinian Authority ordered Al Jazeera's offices in the occupied West Bank to temporarily shut down last Wednesday. The PA cited two reasons for the decision: the network's alleged failure to obtain operating permits and accusations of incitement and meddling in Palestinian internal affairs.
On Sunday, the Magistrate Court of Ramallah ordered the closure of several of Al Jazeera’s digital platforms. In a letter, the attorney general’s office accused the websites of publishing material that “threatens national security and incites the commission of crimes.”
The decisions come just a month after PA security forces launched a contentious security operation in the Jenin Refugee Camp, under the de facto control of militants from Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
