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A court in Ramallah ordered the closure of 59 news sites and Facebook pages, saying they undermined "national security". A decision much criticized. The case was sent back to the Constitutional Court on Thursday.
With our correspondent in Jerusalem, Guilhem Delteil
The case puts at the heart of the debate a controversial law on cybercrime. Adopted in 2017, it had been denounced by Palestinian activists and organizations such as Amnesty International for whom it " allows close control of the media ". Relying on an article of this law, the court in Ramallah ordered the closure of no less than 59 news sites and Facebook pages.
This was justified by the fact that, in the eyes of the court, the sites had published " texts, photos or opinions threatening national security and civil peace ". But several related sites are affiliated with rival Fatah political organizations of President Mahmoud Abbas and the ruling has been denounced as an attempt to silence any discordant voice against the Palestinian Authority.
" This is a dark day for the Palestinian press, " said the union of journalists. " It's a wrong decision ," said the Palestinian Center for Human Rights. And even the government spokesman has asked the court to reconsider his decision.
To invalidate this judgment, the journalists' union launched a lawsuit against the law on cybercrime. But by referring the case to the Constitutional Court, the court in Ramallah extended the closure of the sites concerned.