PA officials used the ambiguity of the 1995 Palestinian press law and control over granting news licenses to temper criticism and silence opposition voices, including al-Watan.
[2] In May 1995, al-Watan's editor Sayed Musa Abu Musameh was sentenced to prison for 2 years by the state security court in Gaza on charges of incitement against the PA.
[1] Subsequently, Hamas affiliate Islamic Salvation Party began publishing al-Risala ('The Message') on 1 January 1997, which while critical of the PA, avoided issues considered too incendiary.
[1] Al-Risala was closed by the Palestinian Authority repeatedly by the PA for its criticism of Yasir Arafat at the Oslo peace process.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Qusai Abdallah was forced to resign in January 1998 after giving an interview to al-Risala.