Media assets

Television: Palestine TV, Palestine Satellite Channel

Radio: Voice of Palestine

State Media Matrix Typology

State-Controlled (SC)

Ownership and governance

PBC traces its roots to the Palestine Radio and TV Corporation, established in 1993 under the leadership of the late President Yasser Arafat. Initially conceived as a state broadcaster, the organization was formally restructured in 2010 under Presidential Decree No. 2/2010, which rebranded it as the Palestine Public Broadcasting Corporation. Despite this nominal shift toward a public service model, PBC remains institutionally subordinate to the office of the President of the Palestinian Authority. The decree outlines the broadcaster’s mission and structure but notably lacks enforceable provisions safeguarding editorial autonomy.

Source of funding and budget

There is no public disclosure of PBC’s detailed financial accounts. However, interviews with local media experts and journalists in June 2024 reaffirm that the broadcaster receives its entire funding from the Palestinian Authority. This has also been corroborated by regional media coverage.

Amid the Gaza conflict, Israeli airstrikes and military operations have directly damaged media infrastructure. Broadcasters, including Voice of Palestine and Palestine TV, have reported intermittent blackouts and studio closures due to safety concerns.

Editorial independence

While the 2010 decree articulated an intent to develop PBC into a public service media institution, that aspiration has yet to materialize in practice. The broadcaster is widely perceived as an arm of government communication, tasked with echoing official narratives and amplifying state policies rather than serving as a platform for pluralistic or critical journalism.

Crucially, the existing regulatory framework does not enshrine editorial independence, nor is there any independent oversight mechanism in place to monitor or enforce it. In effect, PBC continues to function as a government-controlled media outlet, with little to no institutional insulation from political influence.

July 2025

Media assets

Television: Al-Aqsa TV

Radio: Al-Aqsa Voice Radio

Publishing: The Message

State Media Matrix Typology

Captured Public/State-Managed (CaPu)

Ownership and governance

Al-Aqsa TV is wholly controlled by Hamas, which hand-picks its senior management and governs its editorial direction with tight reins. The station is reportedly headed by a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, a body that nominally belongs to the Palestinian Authority but has been largely inactive since the 2007 political schism between Hamas and Fatah. There are no public records of board appointments, statutes, or governance procedures, underscoring the broadcaster’s opaque internal structure.

Fathi Ahmad Hammad is the chairman of Al‑Ribat Communications and Artistic Productions. He is a senior Hamas official, a member of the Hamas political bureau, and formerly served as the Interior Minister in the Gaza Strip between 2009 and 2014. He has been a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council since 2006, representing Beit Lahia in northern Gaza. Hammad is known for his hardline positions and is regarded as one of the more radical figures within Hamas.

Source of funding and budget

The broadcaster operates on an estimated annual budget of approximately US$5 million, as reported by seven local media professionals and experts interviewed between December 2023 and April 2024. While there is no official or audited financial disclosure, sources suggest that most of Al-Aqsa TV’s funding originates from foreign donors sympathetic to Hamas’ ideological aims. The precise identities and channels of these contributions remain undisclosed.

In late 2023 and early 2024, Al-Aqsa TV’s broadcast infrastructure was repeatedly targeted in Israeli airstrikes during the escalation in Gaza. Despite temporary interruptions, the station resumed operations via satellite and digital platforms.

Editorial independence

Al-Aqsa TV exhibits no hallmarks of editorial autonomy. Its news programming overtly promotes the Hamas agenda and frequently disseminates content that local observers and human rights monitors describe as incendiary, ideologically charged, and in some cases anti-Semitic. The station has repeatedly come under international criticism for glorifying violence and broadcasting hate speech, particularly in the wake of regional escalations.

There is no statutory framework to regulate the broadcaster’s content or mandate editorial standards. Nor does any independent oversight mechanism exist to assess or enforce journalistic integrity. In essence, Al-Aqsa TV functions as a propaganda tool, explicitly aligned with Hamas’ political, religious, and military objectives.

July 2025

Media assets

Publishing: Al-Hayat Al-Jadida

State Media Matrix Typology

State-Controlled (SC)

Ownership and governance

According to local journalists and experts interviewed between December 2023 and April 2024, Al-Hayat al-Jadida is directly managed and overseen by appointees of the Palestinian Authority. All senior editorial and administrative positions are filled at the discretion of the PA, with no publicly accessible framework outlining appointment procedures or editorial governance.

Arif (Aref) Hijjawi is consistently cited as the current chief editor of Al‑Hayat al‑Jadida. Multiple sources, including international news and media institution profiles, list him as the top editorial authority for the paper

Source of funding and budget

There is no official disclosure regarding the newspaper’s financial structure. However, all available evidence—including interviews with local media professionals—indicates that Al-Hayat al-Jadida is entirely financed by the Palestinian Authority. The absence of a transparent budget or audited financial reports further underscores the lack of accountability in its operations.

Editorial independence

The publication is widely criticised for functioning as a mouthpiece of the PA, often showcasing unwavering loyalty to government policies. Its editorial line routinely echoes official rhetoric and sidelines dissenting voices. Analysts and media observers have noted that Al-Hayat al-Jadida has published content perceived as provocative or inflammatory, particularly during periods of heightened political tension.

Despite its official status, no legal statute or institutional mechanism exists to safeguard or assess the newspaper’s editorial independence. There is no ombudsman, board of oversight, or regulatory body capable of evaluating its journalistic conduct or separating news reporting from political messaging.

During the 2023–2025 Gaza conflict, Al-Hayat al-Jadida maintained full editorial alignment with the PA’s political position, while largely avoiding coverage critical of internal governance or human rights issues within the West Bank.

July 2025

WAFA publishes content in Arabic, English, French, and Hebrew, aiming to disseminate the Palestinian Authority’s narratives both locally and internationally. Its multilingual approach is designed to reach diverse audiences, including global media, diplomatic circles, and the Israeli public.

Media assets

News agency: WAFA

State Media Matrix Typology

State-Controlled (SC)

Ownership and governance

WAFA traces its origins to 1972, when the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) established the agency with the explicit aim of countering what it described as the “dominant Israeli propaganda.” At its inception, WAFA was conceived as a political communication tool to articulate the PLO’s viewpoint on regional and international stages.

In 2008, a significant structural change was enacted by Presidential Decree, when President Mahmoud Abbas merged the then Ministry of Information with the Palestinian News Agency, creating the modern-day Palestinian News and Information Agency (WAFA). This move centralized media functions under one umbrella, firmly embedding WAFA within the institutional framework of the Palestinian Authority (PA).

A follow-up decree issued in 2011 stipulated that WAFA’s leadership—including its director-general and editorial heads—is appointed directly by the PA. To date, no evidence has surfaced of any independent board, public vetting process, or pluralistic governance mechanism being established.

As of June 2025, Ahmad Assaf serves as WAFA’s Chairman, and Khuloud Assaf is Editor‑in‑Chief, overseeing its multilingual operations.

Source of funding and budget

As of June 2025, no official financial documentation has been published regarding WAFA’s funding structure. However, according to multiple journalists and local media experts interviewed between December 2023 and April 2024, WAFA is financed through a line item within the general budget of the Palestinian Authority.

Although the agency’s funding is public in principle, neither audited accounts nor annual reports specific to WAFA have been disclosed, making its budgetary size, staff costs, and operational expenditures opaque to public scrutiny.

As the Gaza conflict intensified in early 2025, WAFA’s offices—including its Ramallah headquarters—have faced occasional security pressures, such as tear-gassing during military raids in 2018 referenced in background sources.

Editorial independence

WAFA functions as the official voice of the Palestinian Authority, and its editorial content closely mirrors the PA’s political agenda. Local journalists familiar with the agency describe its editorial stance as consistently aligned with government messaging, with little space for dissenting views or investigative journalism.

Despite its significant role in shaping public discourse, WAFA is not governed by any statute that guarantees editorial independence, nor does it fall under the purview of an independent media oversight body. As such, the agency remains structurally and editorially vulnerable to political influence, with no formal safeguards in place to ensure journalistic autonomy or impartiality.

July 2025

Media assets

Publishing: Felesteen

State Media Matrix Typology

Captured Private (CaPr)

Ownership and governance

Felesteen is published by the Al-Wasat Media and Publishing Company, an entity reportedly established by a group of local entrepreneurs with ties to Hamas. The company oversees the paper’s editorial operations, staffing, and content management, but no transparent documentation of governance structures, board appointments, or public accountability mechanisms is available.

Felesteen has continued operations during the intense military escalations in Gaza throughout 2024–2025. Its editorial office and website have remained active despite infrastructure disruptions and security risks.

Source of funding and budget

No official or audited financial disclosures regarding Felesteen’s revenue streams have been made public. However, according to local journalists and regional media experts interviewed between December 2023 and April 2024, the newspaper is entirely financed by the Hamas administration in Gaza. While specific donor sources remain opaque, experts believe funding may be drawn from the broader financial networks that sustain Hamas-affiliated institutions.

Editorial independence

Felesteen’s editorial tone and content are closely aligned with the political and ideological positions of Hamas. The newspaper routinely amplifies the viewpoints of Gaza’s de facto government and avoids criticism of its policies. While the paper occasionally covers general civic issues, it offers no significant space for opposition or dissenting perspectives.

There is no legal framework or independent regulatory body in the Palestinian territories capable of validating or protecting editorial independence. In the case of Felesteen, no internal code of ethics, independent editorial board, or ombuds mechanism has been identified that might insulate it from political influence.

July 2025