Arab television channel Al Jazeera says it is stunned by a decision banning it from the West Bank and has been forced to shut its studios in Ramallah.

The Palestinian Authority has threatened legal action over allegations aired on Tuesday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas conspired with Israel to kill his predecessor, Yasser Arafat, in 2003.

The following year, Mr Arafat died in Paris of an undisclosed illness.

The accusations were made by a rival member of Mr Abbas' Fatah party, Farouq al-Qadoumi, and aired during a half-hour program.

The information ministry in Ramallah says the allegations are false and has accused Al Jazeera of bias.

The TV station says it is astonished at the decision to ban it from the West Bank and will issue a statement to answer the accusations.