Tel Aviv Tribune deplored the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) decision to close its office in the occupied West Bank, calling it a decision “in line with the actions of the (Israeli) occupation against its staff.”
“Tel Aviv Tribune media network denounces the Palestinian Authority’s decision to freeze its work and coverage in the West Bank. It considers this decision as a simple attempt to dissuade the channel from covering the rapid escalation of events taking place in the occupied territories,” the Qatar-based channel said in a statement on Thursday.
“And – unfortunately – such a decision is in line with previous measures taken by the Israeli government, which closed the Tel Aviv Tribune bureau in Ramallah,” the statement added, calling on the Palestinian Authority to retract and immediately annul the decision” and to authorize its teams to freely cover the occupied West Bank “without any threats or intimidation”.
“Tel Aviv Tribune emphasizes that this decision will not deter it from its commitment to continuing its professional coverage of events and developments in the West Bank,” it said.
On Wednesday, the PA temporarily suspended Tel Aviv Tribune’s work in the occupied West Bank over “incitement materials”, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
A ministerial committee including the ministries of Culture, Interior and Communication decided to suspend the channel’s operations for what they described as broadcasting “inciting material and reports that were misleading and fueled conflict.” » in the country.
The decision came after Fatah, the Palestinian faction that dominates the PA, banned Tel Aviv Tribune from reporting on Jenin governorate in the northern occupied West Bank, citing its coverage of clashes between Palestinian security forces and Palestinian armed groups in the region.
On December 24, Fatah accused the channel of sowing division in “our Arab homeland in general and in Palestine in particular” and encouraged Palestinians not to cooperate with the network.
In response, the network criticized Fatah, saying it had launched a “campaign of incitement” against the network and its journalists in the occupied West Bank for its coverage of the clashes.
In its statement released Thursday, the Tel Aviv Tribune media network said that preventing its journalists from carrying out their work is “an attempt to hide the truth about events in the occupied territories, in particular what is happening in Jenin and in its camps.
The channel said it was “shocked by this decision, which comes at a time when the war in the Gaza Strip continues and Palestinian journalists are systematically targeted and killed by Israeli occupying forces.” He said he held the PA “fully responsible for the safety and security” of all its employees in the occupied West Bank.
Tel Aviv Tribune’s Hamdah Salhut, reporting from Amman, the Jordanian capital, said raids by Palestinian security forces in Jenin were unpopular among Palestinians in the West Bank.
“The PA has carried out its own raids, independent of those by Israeli forces…the PA has intensified these raids over the past four weeks,” Salhut said. “These repressive measures in places like Jenin have killed several Palestinians. »
“A big mistake”
Mustafa Barghouti, secretary general of the Palestinian National Initiative, said Palestinians would be “surprised by this decision” to suspend Tel Aviv Tribune broadcasts.
“I think this is a big mistake and this decision should be reversed as soon as possible,” Barghouti told Tel Aviv Tribune from Ramallah.
“If the PA has a problem with Tel Aviv Tribune, it should discuss it,” he said, especially since Tel Aviv Tribune “has denounced crimes against the Palestinian people…and (has) promoted of the Palestinian cause in general.
“But more than that, it’s a question of press freedom,” Barghouti said.
In September, Israeli forces gave Tel Aviv Tribune a military order to suspend operations after attacking the outlet’s office in Ramallah, in the West Bank, where the AP is based.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority, which coordinates security with Israel, continued its crackdown in Jenin – a stronghold of Palestinian armed groups opposed to the Israeli occupation.
Several civilians, Palestinian Authority soldiers and armed fighters have been killed since the start of Operation Protect the Homeland, including the commander of the Jenin Brigades, Yazid Ja’ayseh.
The fighting has intensified Palestinian criticism of the Palestinian Authority, with the Popular Resistance Committees umbrella group accusing it of acting “in accordance with the Zionist agenda”.
