Tel Aviv Tribune Network condemned the Palestinian Authority’s closure of the channel’s office in the West Bank and considered it a step consistent with the practices of the Israeli occupation against its crews, and in harmony with the Israeli government’s decision to close its office in Ramallah.
The network denounced the Palestinian Authority’s decision to freeze its work and coverage in the West Bank, and considered the decision an attempt to discourage it from covering the escalating events taking place in the occupied territories.
She added that the closure decision comes in the wake of an ongoing campaign of incitement and intimidation by parties sponsored by the Palestinian Authority against the network’s journalists, and that the decision to prevent its journalists from continuing their work is an attempt to hide the truth about the events in the occupied territories, especially in Jenin and its camp.
The network was surprised by this step, which comes amid the war on Gaza and the occupation’s targeting and killing of Palestinian journalists. The Palestinian Authority held full responsibility for the safety and security of all network employees inside the West Bank.
Tel Aviv Tribune Network also called on the Palestinian Authority to immediately rescind the decision and allow its teams to cover freely in the West Bank without intimidation, noting that the Authority’s decision will not stop the network’s commitment to continuing to cover events and developments in the West Bank with all professionalism.
On Wednesday, the Palestinian Authority decided to stop broadcasting Tel Aviv Tribune and freeze the work of its office and employees in Palestine, claiming that the channel violated Palestinian laws.
The Palestinian News Agency said, “The decision came after Tel Aviv Tribune’s tampering and interference in Palestinian internal affairs and broadcasting inflammatory materials and reports characterized by misleading and inciting sedition,” as it put it.
She added that “the decision to stop broadcasting Tel Aviv Tribune came because it violated the laws and regulations in force in Palestine,” according to her claim, noting that stopping the channel’s broadcast would be temporary “until its legal status is corrected.”
The Palestinian Authority’s decision comes after the occupation authorities closed Tel Aviv Tribune’s office in Ramallah in the West Bank last September and stormed it according to a military order, as a result of which they confiscated all equipment and documents in the office and prevented its employees from using their cars.
Last May, the Israeli government approved the proposal of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Communications Minister Shlomo Karai to close Tel Aviv Tribune’s offices in Israel, with the decision taking effect immediately with the signature of the Communications Minister, in accordance with what was called the “Tel Aviv Tribune Law.”
