Palestinian Authority lifts its ban on Al Jazeera after a five-month suspension imposed over alleged incitement.
The Palestinian Authority has lifted a five-month ban on the Qatar-based Al Jazeera news network, allowing its teams to resume operations in areas of Judea and Samaria it controls beginning Tuesday morning, AFP reported.
Waleed Omari, Al Jazeera’s bureau chief in Ramallah, announced the decision on Monday, stating: “Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has decided to lift the ban on the Al Jazeera network and allow its crews to resume work in the Palestinian territories starting tomorrow morning.”
A Palestinian official confirmed the move to AFP.
The PA had originally suspended the network’s activity on January 1, accusing Al Jazeera of incitement. The decision followed the airing of footage showing PA security personnel entering the network’s Ramallah office and delivering suspension orders.
In response to the ban, Al Jazeera claimed the Palestinian Authority was attempting “to deter Al Jazeera from covering escalating events in the occupied Palestinian territories,” particularly in Jenin and the surrounding refugee camp, where PA forces had been clashing with armed terrorists during that period.
Al Jazeera was also banned by Israel after it was revealed that one of the channel’s “journalists” was a Hamas commander.
In September, the IDF shut down the offices of Al Jazeera in Ramallah. The military stated that the decision was made in accordance with the guidance of the political echelon and the Attorney General after it was determined that the channel’s broadcasts harm the security of the state.
