The Palestinian Authority has accused the Qatari-based news network of inciting unrest in the West Bank.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) has temporarily suspended Al Jazeera’s operations in the West Bank, citing the network’s alleged role in provoking civil strife.
The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported on Wednesday that the PA’s ministries of culture, interior, and communications attributed the ban to Al Jazeera’s coverage of recent clashes in Jenin refugee camp, alleging that its reporting misled viewers and fueled division.
In December, Al Jazeera reported on a PA raid targeting the Jenin Brigades, a splinter group. Established in 1953, the Jenin refugee camp, a long-standing center of Palestinian resistance against Israel, houses an estimated 11,000 to 22,000 people.
While the Al Jazeera ban is described as temporary, no end date has been set. The ban does not affect the network’s operations in Hamas-controlled areas of Gaza, with whom the PA has been in conflict since the mid-2000s. Hamas urged the PA to reverse the decision, arguing that it is vital for unbiased media coverage exposing the Israeli occupation.
Al Jazeera strongly condemned the suspension, calling it an attempt to silence its reporting on the escalating situation in the occupied territories. It demanded the PA rescind the ban and allow its staff to work freely in the West Bank without intimidation. The network also noted the ban’s similarity to previous actions by the Israeli government, which closed Al Jazeera’s Ramallah office in September.
Israel justified its actions by claiming that the network promotes terrorism. Al Jazeera was also banned from operating in Israel in May 2024, accused of collaborating with Hamas militants—allegations the network denies.