| Safa Press Agency | |
| Type: | News agency |
| Language: | Arabic |
| Native Name: | وكالة الصحافة الفلسطينية |
| Native Name Lang: | ar |
The Palestinian Press Agency (ar|وكالة الصحافة الفلسطينية), also known as the Safa News Agency (stylized as SAFA), is a Gaza-based Palestinian news agency affiliated with Hamas.[1] [2] [3] [4]
The agency was launched on July 5, 2009, and headed by Yasser Abu-Hin, who previously directed Hamas-affiliated PalMedia.[5] Abu-Hin states that the agency is independent and not affiliated with Hamas. He described Safa's goal as to "expose the crimes of the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people as a national priority." According to Wael Abdelal of Qatar University, Hamas leaders who work in media such as Safa are generally reticent to publicly declare media institutions' affiliation with Hamas.[6]
Facebook deleted the agency's page in March 2018 as part of a broader blocking of Palestinian accounts for alleged incitement. According to Palestinian activists, Facebook deleted the accounts of more than 500 journalists and pages since the beginning of 2018.[7] [8]