Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
Layla Daoud Muhammad Ghanem (Awawdeh) was born on May 29, 1975, to a Palestinian family from the town of Deir Dibwan, east of Ramallah. She received her primary and secondary education in Deir Dibwan, graduating from Deir Dibwan Girls' Secondary School in the science track in 1992. She earned a bachelor's degree in social development from Al-Quds Open University/Ramallah branch in 2002, a master's degree in psychological counseling from Al-Quds University/Abu Dis in 2004, and a PhD in education specializing in mental health from Minya University in Egypt in 2009. Ghanem worked as a kindergarten teacher, then as a coordinator for the Friends of the Patient Society's program for the rehabilitation of people with disabilities, and later as a coordinator for six governorates in the local elections. She served as Director General of the Office of the Minister of Social Affairs from 2007 to 2009. She also worked as a part-time lecturer at Al-Quds Open University. She assumed the position of Deputy and Acting Governor of Ramallah and Al-Bireh in 2009. A presidential decree was issued appointing her as Governor of Ramallah and Al-Bireh in 2010. Throughout her career, Ghannam demonstrated high efficiency in communicating with the public, and her presence in public affairs was remarkable.
Ghannam grew up in a family of activists, which positively influenced her personality, leading her to become involved in national work at a young age. She joined the student youth movement while in school and contributed to its success during her university studies. She was also active in the community and participated in numerous activities organized by the Fatah movement. She served on the committee overseeing the Fatah primary elections in 2005. From 2005 to 2007, she chaired the board of directors of the Watan Center for Women Leaders in Ramallah. She was a member of the Fatah leadership committee in the Ramallah and al-Bireh region from 2008 to 2014. She was a member of the Sixth Fatah Conference held in Bethlehem in 2009 and the Seventh Fatah Conference held in Ramallah in 2016. Since 2017, she has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the Arab American University in Jenin and also serves on the Board of Trustees of Al-Istiqlal Military University in Jericho.
Ghannam believes that the Palestinian people face a settler-colonial occupation that, since its establishment in 1948, has worked to displace our people and settle them on their land by force of arms. However, our people have since proven their ability to resist the occupation and thwart all the liquidation plans and solutions plotted against them. Given the current situation following major regional transformations and the blatant American bias towards the occupying state, any return to negotiations with the occupation must be based on new foundations and terms of reference. This should begin with convening an international peace conference based on international law and internationally agreed-upon frameworks, with broad international participation including key regional and international players, within a defined timeframe, and culminating in the establishment of a fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. Ghannam believes that the Oslo Accords were a temporary phase, and despite the PLO's full commitment to them, the occupying state destroyed them and worked to create new realities on the ground that contradict all the agreements that were signed, which have become ink on paper. Although the settlement process is now passing through a dark tunnel, our options as Palestinians are limited in light of regional and international changes, which pushes us to adhere to the two-state solution and the political settlement, but with a new formula, vision, and international sponsorship in the current stage, while standing firm and emphasizing our adherence to all our national rights that have been approved by international laws and resolutions, and rejecting any deals or interim solutions that do not meet our aspiration to establish an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.
Ghannam believes that the division has placed the Palestinian cause in its most difficult phase, leaving the national project adrift, and that Hamas bears full responsibility for what transpired in 2007. She maintains that resistance to the occupation in all its forms is a right guaranteed by international laws and conventions for occupied peoples, and that the Palestinian people's right to resist the occupation in all its forms, including armed resistance, is an inalienable right. However, in the current circumstances, the Palestinian leadership has chosen popular resistance as a means to confront the Israeli occupation and its brutality, and this type of resistance has proven effective in conveying the Palestinian people's message. Ghannam believes that there is no alternative to national partnership within the institutions of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority, a partnership based on mutual respect, public opinion, and the results of elections. She considers this the most appropriate path to ending internal disputes and realizing the dream of establishing a Palestinian state.
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