Khatib, Ghassan (1954–)

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KHATIB, GHASSAN (1954–)

Palestinian politician, born 1954 in Nablus. Educated at Bir Zeit University and Manchester and Durham Universities in Britain. Khatib was active in the Palestinian National Front (PNF), a militant organization created by the Jordanian Communist Party in the West Bank, and as a result was jailed by the Israeli authorities from 1974 to 1977. He has worked as a lecturer at Bir Zeit University and was a member of the Palestinian delegation to the Madrid Conference in 1991, as well as a participant in the direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations of 1991–1993. He has served on the boards of the Arab Development Center (an agricultural organization), the Democracy and Worker's Rights Center, and the Friends Schools in Palestine, and is on the editorial board of the Israel-Palestine Journal, which publishes Palestinian and Israeli perspectives on political issues. He is a cofounder and codirector of Bitter Lemons, a Palestinian-Israeli Internet-based political magazine. Khatib is director of the Jerusalem Media and Communications Center, which conducts opinion polls and provides support to journalists in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. He is also director of the Institute of Modern Media at Al-Quds University in Jerusalem. An active member of the Palestinian People's Party (PPP), he was appointed Minister of Labor in the PNA in 2002. He has published many articles of political commentary and analysis.

SEE ALSO Bir Zeit University;Gaza Strip;Madrid Conference;Palestinian National Front;Palestinian People's Party;West Bank.