The decision came after the PA closed Tel Aviv Tribune’s bureau in the occupied West Bank, temporarily suspending its work.
The magistrate’s court in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, ordered the closure of several Tel Aviv Tribune websites for four months, according to a court document – the latest restriction imposed by the Palestinian Authority (PA) on the network.
In a letter dated Sunday, the Attorney General’s Office asked the Palestinian Ministry of Communication to implement the court’s decision by closing Tel Aviv Tribune.net, Tel Aviv Tribune.net/live, Tel Aviv Tribune360.com and global.ajplus.net.
The order required all companies licensed to broadcast radio and satellite broadcasts to comply with the ruling “or face legal action.”
According to the document, the websites published materials that “threaten national security and incite the commission of crimes.”
The latest move comes after the PA closed Tel Aviv Tribune’s bureau in the occupied West Bank last week, temporarily suspending its work – a move the channel denounced.
A Palestinian Authority ministerial committee, including the ministries of Culture, Interior and Communications, justified the decision, saying the channel broadcast “inciting material and reporting that was misleading and fueled conflict” in the country.
The channel criticized the decision, calling it “an attempt to dissuade the channel from covering the rapid escalation of events taking place in the occupied territory,” adding that it was “in line with the actions of the (Israeli) occupation.” against his staff.
The closure was also criticized by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which called for its immediate reversal, warning that Tel Aviv Tribune’s reporting in Gaza and the West Bank was “vital.”
Analysts and human rights activists say such moves by the Palestinian Authority are part of a broader attempt to silence criticism of its security operations in the Palestinian refugee camp. Jenin.
The shutdown of Tel Aviv Tribune’s websites and broadcasting came nearly a month after the Palestinian Authority launched a crackdown on the Jenin Brigades – a coalition of armed groups affiliated with Palestinian factions such as as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and even Fatah, the party that controls the PA.
Since early December, the PA has besieged the Jenin camp and cut off water and electricity to most residents in an ostensible attempt to restore “law and order” across the West Bank.
However, his indiscriminate tactics in Jenin coincide with a broader attack on freedom of expression, activists and human rights groups told Tel Aviv Tribune.
Israel has also targeted Tel Aviv Tribune’s work in the West Bank. Last September, authorities stormed the Tel Aviv Tribune office in Ramallah and closed it.
