President Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree on Sunday, banning local media and officials from abuse and slander of the emir of Qatarand the emirate's government.
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani is the King of Qatar
The announcement came a day after the resignation of PLO negotiations chief Saeb Erekat, who had made several accusations against the both targets, the most recent of which included allegations that the nation had holdings in companies active in Israeli settlement construction.
PLO official Yasser Abed Rabbo also recently spoke out against the emir, saying Al-Jazeera's release of negotiations documents in a series of programs dubbed "The Palestine Papers" was a political campaign directed by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Ath-Thani.
Demonstrations and government-aligned media outlets also launched accusations at Qatar, where the Al-Jazeera network is based, and its leader.
And I was so anxious for Erekat to release details on his accusations of Qatari investments in Jewish settlements! Now he can't do it because he's being muzzled by that proponent of democratic reforms and free speech, Mahmoud Abbas.
From Ma'an:The announcement came a day after the resignation of PLO negotiations chief Saeb Erekat, who had made several accusations against the both targets, the most recent of which included allegations that the nation had holdings in companies active in Israeli settlement construction.
PLO official Yasser Abed Rabbo also recently spoke out against the emir, saying Al-Jazeera's release of negotiations documents in a series of programs dubbed "The Palestine Papers" was a political campaign directed by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Ath-Thani.
Demonstrations and government-aligned media outlets also launched accusations at Qatar, where the Al-Jazeera network is based, and its leader.
The Palestine Papers, a joint initiative by the London-based The Guardian and Al-Jazeera, published reports from 1,600 leaked documents which cataloged more than 10 years of negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian leaders. The documents showed a wide gap between the public position of PLO and government leaders, and the concessions being offered to Israel.
"Our answer to the Al-Jazeera programs will be limited to refutations of the allegations that the programs made," Abbas said in a statement, adding that the Palestinian response must not go beyond the substance of the allegations into counter attacks.
PLO official Yasser Abed Rabbo also recently spoke out against the emir, saying Al-Jazeera's release of negotiations documents in a series of programs dubbed "The Palestine Papers" was a political campaign directed by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Ath-Thani.
Demonstrations and government-aligned media outlets also launched accusations at Qatar, where the Al-Jazeera network is based, and its leader.
The Palestine Papers, a joint initiative by the London-based The Guardian and Al-Jazeera, published reports from 1,600 leaked documents which cataloged more than 10 years of negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian leaders. The documents showed a wide gap between the public position of PLO and government leaders, and the concessions being offered to Israel. "Our answer to the Al-Jazeera programs will be limited to refutations of the allegations that the programs made," Abbas said in a statement, adding that the Palestinian response must not go beyond the substance of the allegations into counter attacks.
The president justified the move saying "we must keep strong our relationship with Arab states."
Al-Jazeera's coverage of the documents quickly became the focus of debate in the West Bank, with government officials accusing the station of broadcasting a bias against the PA, saying the bias came from that of the Qatar leadership.
The documents showed significant concessions were made by PLO officials to Israel on the core issues of the Right of Return, the return of Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital, and showed a large degree of cooperation between the PA and Israeli forces when it came to the Gaza Strip.
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