Ghassan Khatib (; born 1954) is a Palestinian politician. He was born in

Nablus Nablus ( ; , ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 156,906. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a ...

, in the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

, and is a member of the

Palestinian People's Party The Palestinian People's Party (PPP; ''Hizb ash-Sha'b al-Filastini''), founded in 1982 as the Palestinian Communist Party, is a socialist political party in Palestine and among the Palestinian diaspora. History The original Palestine Com ...

. Khatib is married and has three children. He was also a member of the Madrid Peace Delegation in 1991 and was involved in the Washington negotiations from 1991 to 1993. He was appointed the

Palestinian National Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank as a c ...

Minister of Labor in 2002, then the Planning Minister in 2005–06.The PA Ministerial Cabinet List, April 2003 - October 2003
Jerusalem Media and Communications Centre.

Biography

Khatib holds a PhD in Middle East politics from

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

(2007), an MA in Development Studies from the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

(1986). and a BA Business Administration and Economics from

Birzeit University Birzeit University () is a public university in the West Bank, Palestine, registered by the Palestinian Ministry of Social Affairs as a charitable organization. It is accredited by the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Mini ...

(1982). He is lecturer of Contemporary Arab Studies and International Studies at Birzeit University. He has served as Director of Government Media Center in 2009–2012 and Palestinian Minister of Labor 2002–2004 and Minister of Planning 2005–2006. Khatib was Vice-President for community outreach in 2006–2009, and vice president for Advancement in 2012–2016 at Birzeit University. He was Founder and director of the Jerusalem Media & Communication Centre, which specializes in research, opinion polling and media activities. He was a member of the Palestinian delegation for the Madrid Middle East Peace Conference in 1991 and the subsequent bilateral Palestinian-Israeli negotiations in Washington from 1991 to 1993. Khatib co-founded and co-directed bitterlemons.org, a Palestinian-Israeli internet-based political magazine. He was a member of the Joint Working Group on Israel-Palestine Relations at Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. Khatib was tricked into appearing in the 2009 mockumentary ''

Brüno ''Brüno'' is a 2009 mockumentary comedy film directed by Larry Charles and starring Sacha Baron Cohen, who produced, co-wrote, and played the gay Austrian fashion journalist Brüno. It is the third film based on one of Cohen's characters f ...

'', where

Sacha Baron Cohen Sacha Noam Baron Cohen ( ; born 13 October 1971) is an English comedian, actor and performance artist. Known for his creation and portrayal of the fictional satirical characters Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, and Admiral General Haf ...

tried to solve the Middle East crisis in a sit-down with Khatib and

Yossi Alpher Yossi (Joseph) Alpher () is an Israeli columnist and writer on Israel-related Middle East strategic issues. Alpher is best known as the author of the prize winninPeriphery: Israel's Search for Middle East Allies as well as coeditor oBitterlemo ...

Work

* ''Palestinian Politics and the Middle East Peace Process: consensus and competition in the Palestinian negotiation team.'' London: Routledge, 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khatib, Ghassan 1954 births Living people Alumni of Durham University Government ministers of the Palestinian National Authority Palestinian People's Party politicians People from Nablus Academic staff of Birzeit University