Popular support for the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank has been in steady decline. Now, to burnish its credentials, the Authority is taking on a militant stronghold in Jenin. The high-risk move is further dividing Palestinian society.

The Palestinian Authority has suspended Al Jazeera from broadcasting and operating in the occupied West Bank. It accused the network of broadcasting “inciting materials” and “misleading reports” that “provoke strife and interfere in Palestinian internal affairs,” Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency, said Wednesday.

Weeks of deadly fighting have marked the most serious clashes between Palestinian factions in years.

The attacks follow the deadly shooting of Israelis in the territory and coincide with raids by both Israeli and Palestinian forces against armed groups.

The network said the move is an attempt to dissuade it from covering the rapidly escalating events taking place.

Amid an offensive against Palestinian armed groups in Jenin, in the northern West Bank, the Palestinian Authority suspended the broadcasting and activities of the Al-Jazeera channel January 1, accusing it of “incitement to sedition.

A month into a crackdown by Palestinian security forces on militants in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the streets of Jenin refugee camp are deserted, except for a few residents briefly checking on their homes.

The Palestinian Authority says it has suspended broadcasting by the prominent Arab channel Al Jazeera in parts of the occupied West Bank, citing incitement and bias. Qatari-owned Al Jazeera expressed shock and denounced the decision as "an attempt to hide the truth about events in the occupied territories".

The ban comes as the PA battles militants from Hamas and its allies for control over parts of the West Bank, a fight that could shape the struggle for leadership of the Palestinian cause.