Palestinian News & Information Agency
Arabic: وكالة الأنباء الفلسطينية
AbbreviationWAFA
FormationApril 1972 (1972-04)[1]
FounderZiyad Abdel Fattah[2]
TypeNews agency
HeadquartersRamallah, West Bank[3]
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsWire service, News, Photos, Video
Key people
Ahmad Assaf (Chairman),[4] Khuloud Assaf (Editor-in-Chief)[5]
Parent organization
Palestinian National Authority
Staff
260[6]
Websiteenglish.wafa.ps

Wafa (Arabic: وفا, lit. 'trust', an acronym of Arabic: وكالة الأنباء الفلسطينية Wikalat al-Anba al-Filastiniya, lit. 'Palestinian News Agency'),[7] also referred to in English as the Palestine News Agency and the Palestinian News & Info Agency, is the official state-run news agency of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).[8] Before the formation of the PNA in 1994, Wafa was the official news agency of the Palestine Liberation Organization.[9]

Wafa, like the PNA's other media outlets, are considered to be aligned with Fatah.[10] The president of the PA appoints WAFA's head, and the organization is viewed an arm of the Palestinian government, rather than an independent agency that criticizes the Palestinian government.

Wafa provides daily news from Palestinian territories, Israel and the Middle East, and is available in English, Arabic, French and Hebrew.[11][12]

History

Early years (1972–1994)

Following a decision at the Palestinian National Council's special session in Cairo in April 1972, the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization announced the establishment of Wafa as the official news agency of the Palestinians,[1] based in Beirut on June 5, 1972.[13] While initially Wafa focused on publishing "the official version of news about Palestinian affairs," especially military statements of its revolutionary leadership, Wafa's work gradually expanded. It began issuing felasteen el-thawra (meaning "Palestinian revolution"), a weekly magazine headed by Ahmed Abdel-Rahman.[1]

During PLO's presence in Lebanon, Wafa was frequently quoted by foreign correspondents and news agencies.[14] According to Kenneth R. Timmerman, writing for Commentary, Wafa was instrumental in shaping the Western narrative of the 1982 Lebanon War:[15]

The information supplied by WAFA on the number of victims and their category - civilian or military - provided the basis for the dispatches leaving West Beirut, in the absence of other sources. The "Lebanese police" so often quoted in this context had ceased to function in West Beirut early in the siege. With deadlines to meet and under the risk of falling bombs, most journalists were content with what they got. This, then, was one source of the wild exaggeration in the figures of civilian dead reported throughout the war and especially during the siege of Beirut. ... First there was the press pass issued by WAFA with the bearer's photograph, a duplicate of which remained in WAFA's offices. Without this pass, no journalist could hope to circulate in West Beirut; caught photographing, or taking notes, he would be immediately arrested if not shot on sight.

Following the PLO's ouster from Lebanon during the 1982 Lebanon War, Wafa resumed its activities in Cyprus and Tunis from November 1982.[16]

Under the PA (1994–2005)

As a consequence of the Oslo Accords in 1994, the PLO's media institutions transferred to the aegis of the Palestinian Authority.[17] Wafa opened offices in Gaza City and Ramallah.

Under Mahmoud Abbas (2004–present)

In April 2005, Mahmoud Abbas transferred the PNA's media assets, including Wafa, to the Palestinian Ministry of Information under Nabil Shaath. At the same time, he merged the General Information Commission into Wafa. Wafa was previously under the PA presidency and the PLO Executive Committee. Palestinian journalists had complained about the PNA's strict control over official media outlets, and the move was seen as an attempt to improve the official media's independence.[18]

Hamas won the 2006 Palestinian legislative election and to preempt Hamas from asserting control of the media assets, Abbas transferred them back to the presidential office.[12]

In September 2006, gunmen stormed Wafa's offices in Khan Younis and smashed equipment and beat up one reporter.[19]

In 2015, Abbas appointed Khoulud Asaf as the new head of WAFA, the first female head of the organization. The president of the PA appoints WAFA's head, and the organization is viewed an arm of the Palestinian government, rather than an independent agency that criticizes the Palestinian government.[6]

On December 10, 2018, Israeli soldiers raided Wafa's offices in Ramallah and fired tear gas into the building. The Palestinian Journalists' Union, the Palestinian foreign ministry, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the International Federation of Journalists condemned the Israeli attack.[20][21][5]

In 2019, Wafa won the Federation of Arab News Agencies,'s an organization of national news agencies, award for best report.[22]

Foreign language editions

In October 2005, Wafa re-launched its French service. The French service had previously operated in Tunisia until 1994.[23]

In 2009, Wafa launched a Hebrew version of its website; the content of this service would focus on Arab citizens of Israel.[24] It also started mailing a daily newsletter to Israeli members of the Knesset and Hebrew media outlets.[24] Wafa ceased its Hebrew service in 2016.[25]

In 2022, Wafa relaunched its Hebrew service in order to "convey the Palestinian point of view to Israeli society", according to Wafa's editor-in-chief.[25]

Affiliations

  • Alliance of the Mediterranean News Agencies
  • Federation of Arab News Agencies

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Abdelal, W. (2016). Hamas and the Media: Politics and strategy. Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Democratization and Government. Taylor & Francis. p. 37. ISBN 978-1-317-26715-7. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  2. ↑ "صاقل الماس.. كتاب جديد لزياد عبد الفتاح". Palestine News Agency (Wafa) (in Arabic). 17 November 2019. Archived from the original on 28 March 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  3. ↑ "Our Address". WAFA Agency. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  4. ↑ Kuttab, Daoud (January 14, 2016). "The year of Palestinian leadership change has begun - Middle East". Al Jazeera. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Palestine : IFJ condemns Israeli raid on WAFA news agency / FIJ". IFJ. December 11, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  6. 1 2 Line, Media (August 18, 2015). "In first, PA appoints woman head of official Palestinian news agency". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  7. ↑ "Arafat minion as professor". The Washington Times. July 8, 2004. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Palestinian News & Information Agency-WAFA". WAFA Agency.
  9. ↑ Rashid Khalidi, Under Siege: P.L.O. Decisionmaking During the 1982 War, 1986, p. 7
  10. ↑ "Critical language analysis of Palestinian and Israeli online newspapers and news websites during the 2014 Gaza War". Lancaster EPrints. January 25, 2017. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  11. ↑ Agencies, The New Arab Staff & (January 6, 2022). "Palestinian Wafa news agency relaunches Hebrew service". english.alaraby.co.uk/.
  12. 1 2 Amira Halperin (7 November 2018). The Use of New Media by the Palestinian Diaspora in the United Kingdom. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 151,206. ISBN 978-1-5275-2111-7.
  13. ↑ Barrie Gunter, Roger Dickinson (ed.). News Media in the Arab World: A Study of 10 Arab and Muslim Countries. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 71.
  14. ↑ Midstream. Theodor Herzl Foundation. 1983. p. 10.
  15. ↑ Timmerman, Kenneth R. (January 1, 1983). "How the PLO Terrorized Journalists in Beirut". Commentary Magazine. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  16. ↑ Taylor & Francis Group (30 October 2003). The Middle East and North Africa 2004. Psychology Press. p. 934. ISBN 978-1-85743-184-1.
  17. ↑ UNESCO Office Ramallah (24 November 2014). Assessment of media development in Palestine: based on UNESCO's media development indicators. UNESCO. pp. 49–. ISBN 978-92-3-100021-8.
  18. ↑ "Shake-up of Palestinian media". BBC News. May 4, 2005. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Gunmen attack Palestinian news agency in Gaza - English". B92.net. September 19, 2006. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  20. ↑ "OIC slams Israeli raid on Palestine news agency office". Middle East Monitor. December 11, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Israeli army raids Palestinian news agency in West Bank". Middle East Eye. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  22. ↑ "ONA elected president of FANA; SPA, KUNA as vice-presidents, SPA wins best Picture Award 2019 The official Saudi Press Agency". Saudi Press Agency. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  23. ↑ "Research - Local Research on Media - West Bank and Gaza Media Guide - June 2006". MPRC. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  24. 1 2 "Palestinian news agency launches Hebrew website". Reuters.
  25. 1 2 "Palestinian Authority's Wafa news agency relaunches Hebrew service". Times of Israel. AFP. 2022-01-07. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
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