RAMALLAH, June 20, 2026 (WAFA) – The Palestinian News and Information Agency (WAFA) mourned on Saturday the death of its former president, novelist and journalist Ziad Abdel Fattah.
The General Supervisor of Official Media and Chairman of WAFA's Board of Directors, Minister Ahmad Assaf, expressed his condolences on behalf of himself, WAFA's directors general, journalists, administrative staff, and all employees of the agency to the family of the deceased and the wider journalistic community.
Born in Tulkarm, Ziad Abdel Fattah completed his secondary education there before working as a teacher for three years in Jericho, Nablus, and the Tulkarm refugee camp. He earned a diploma in education and psychology while teaching, later joining the Faculty of Law in Damascus and then Ain Shams University in Cairo, where he graduated while serving as director general of WAFA in 1975.
He was one of the founders of the Sawt Al-Asifa (Voice of the Storm) radio station in Cairo in 1968, where he worked as a key broadcaster, writer, and member of its organizational leadership.
Abdel Fattah began working on the establishment of the Palestinian News Agency (WAFA) in 1972, when he and a group of young colleagues produced the agency’s news bulletin from writing it on typewriters to distributing it.
In 1984, he was chosen as deputy editor-in-chief of “Lotus” magazine, published by the Afro-Asian Writers’ Union.
A decree issued by late President Yasser Arafat in 1994 formally established the Palestinian News Agency (WAFA), with Abdel Fattah serving as its chairman of the board and editor-in-chief with the rank of assistant undersecretary.
In 2020, President Mahmoud Abbas awarded him the Culture, Science and Arts Medal at the “Distinguished” level in recognition of his outstanding literary, journalistic, and national career, as well as his dedication to defending the Palestinian cause and homeland.
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