The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a decision by the Palestinian Authority to suspend Al Jazeera’s operations in the West Bank.
“Governments resort to censoring news outlets when they have something to hide,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg. “The Palestinian Authority should reverse its decision to suspend Al Jazeera’s operations and allow journalists to report freely without fear of reprisal.”
Palestinian official news agency WAFA reported on Wednesday that the Palestinian Authority suspended Al Jazeera on grounds of “inciting material.” The ban comes after the Authority criticized Al Jazeera’s coverage last week of a standoff between Palestinian security forces and militant fighters in the West Bank’s Jenin camp, according to Reuters.
Israel raided Al Jazeera’s Ramallah offices in September and ordered its closure for 45 days, accusing the broadcaster’s West Bank operations of “incitement to and support of terrorism.”
Israel banned Al Jazeera’s Israel operations in May, citing national security concerns.
Editor’s note: On May 12, 2025, President Mahmoud Abbas lifted the Palestinian Authority’s five-month-old ban on Al Jazeera after accusing the broadcaster of “interfering in internal Palestinian affairs.”
Al Jazeera’s Ramallah bureau chief Walid al-Omari told The New York Times that the broadcaster’s offices in the West Bank city would not reopen immediately because they had also been shut by an Israeli military order. Al Jazeera journalists, however, would be able to resume work in the West Bank without fear of prosecution by the Palestinian Authority, he said.