The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese issued rare criticism of the Palestinian Authority, not for terrorism or crimes against Israelis and Jews, but for suspending the broadcasts of Al Jazeera TV.
“We are deeply concerned by Palestinian Authority’s suspension of Al Jazeera operations and reporters in the West Bank amid troubling trend of suppressing freedom of opinion and expression,” the UN Human Rights office wrote on X. “We urge PA to reverse course and respect its international law obligations."
Earlier, Francesca Albanese wrote on X, "When Israel banned AJ months ago, I urged the concerned authorities to reverse that decision. I ask the same to the PA now. Journalism is not a crime."
A statement published by the official PA news agency Wafa stated that Al Jazeera violated the laws and regulations in force in the PA territories.
According to Wafa, the decision was made due to Al Jazeera's insistence on broadcasting "incitement content" and reports characterized by false information that incite internal conflicts and express interference in the internal affairs of the Palestinian Authority.
Last week, the Fatah movement, which is headed by PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas, announced that it is banning Al Jazeera from operating in PA-assigned areas of Judea and Samaria, claiming that the channel "spreads conflicts and incites".
The announcement came amid ongoing clashes in Jenin between Palestinian Authority security forces and terrorists affiliated with the Islamic Jihad.
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.