JERUSALEM (JTA) — Al-Jazeera television has been banned from operating in Palestinian-controlled territory.
The Qatar-based Arabic news channel was banned in the West Bank by the Palestinian Authority on Wednesday, after the authority accused it of incitement for broadcasting allegations against P.A. President Mahmoud Abbas, according to news reports.
The allegations broadcast Tuesday and attributed to a senior Fatah official claimed that Abbas conspired with Israel to kill Yasser Arafat in 2003. Arafat died of natural causes, but some Arabs believe Israel secretly killed him.
The Palestinian news service Ma’an quoted the P.A. Information Ministry as saying in a statement: “Al-Jazeera has always dedicated a wide portion of its transmission to incite against the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority. Despite repeated requests to be impartial in its coverage of Palestinian affairs, the station continued to incite against the PLO and the P.A. The latest false news was aired yesterday.”
“We expect all media outlets operating in Palestine to practice their work in a way that does not contradict the Palestinian national interest and sovereignty of law,” the statement said.
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