Palestinian activists and rights groups on Thursday criticised the Palestinian Authority's decision to suspend Al Jazeera broadcasts in the West Bank, expressing concern that the move heralded an erosion of press freedom.
The channel aired images of what appeared to be Palestinian security officers entering the network's office in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Wednesday and handing over the suspension orders.
The PA's decision includes "temporarily freezing the work of all journalists, employees, crews and affiliated channels until their legal status is rectified due to Al Jazeera's violations of the laws and regulations in force in Palestine", the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported late Wednesday.
Amar Dweik, a member of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights, called for the decision to be reversed.
"This decision sends negative messages to the public and journalists about media freedom, especially since media work has been significantly regressing, particularly after the military operation in Jenin camp," he said.
Dweik was referring to recent clashes between Palestinian Authority security forces and armed militants in the West Bank city of Jenin.
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate criticised Al Jazeera's coverage of those clashes, saying it sought to "promote incitement" and "internal discord".
For nearly a month, Palestinian security forces have been conducting a military operation in the Jenin refugee camp targeting what they call "outlaws" among the armed individuals in the camp.
Eleven Palestinians were killed during this operation, including five security officers, a trainee journalist, and a field leader from the Jenin Brigade, an armed group based in the camp.
On Thursday, the PA insisted the suspension measure was "temporary", adding that it came in response to the complaint from the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate.
The syndicate's president, Muhammad al-Lahham, told AFP that though the group found "Al Jazeera does not adhere to proper reporting standards", it did not call for the channel's closure.
The Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem on Thursday expressed "grave concerns" over the decision, which it said "raises serious questions about press freedom and democratic values in the region".
Shawan Jabarin, director of the non-governmental Al-Haq Foundation, called the Palestinian Authority's decision "very dangerous" and "an avowal of weakness".
"The Palestinian public will now say they respect Al Jazeera because the Palestinian Authority closed it," he added.
Mustafa Hussein, a Palestinian youth who regularly follows Al Jazeera, told AFP in Ramallah that "closing Al Jazeera is embarrassing" and added that he hoped the Palestinian Authority would allow it to broadcast again.
On the other hand, Mustafa Ounhal, another young man, believed that "there must be things that Al Jazeera published that prompted the Palestinian Authority to make this decision".
Muhammad Abu Jad, a Palestinian government spokesman, said that "measures will remain in place until Al Jazeera chooses to act in accordance with the fundamental ethics of journalism".
Despite the decision to suspend the channel's operations, it continued to broadcast in cafes and homes in the centre of Ramallah on Thursday, AFP journalists reported.
