Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
Born in Al-Bireh on 3 Dec. 1931; studied Economics at the AUC, graduating with a BA in 1955; while studying, was active in the Ba'ath Party until resignation in 1957 following the refusal of the party to evaluate its failure in the Jordanian elections of 1956; taught in Jerusalem in 1956 and in Libya from 1958-62; worked in business upon his return to Palestine to ensure his independence; was elected mayor of Al-Bireh in 1967 prior to the June War; deported by Israel to Jordan for his strong role in creating and leading the PNF on 10 Dec. 1973; independent member of the PLO Central Council and the PNC from 1974; served on the PLO-Exec. Committee and became head of the Office for Home Affairs in Beirut; moved to Amman in 1981; headed the Jerusalem Center for Development Studies in Amman; returned to the OPT in April 1993 and decided to become a farmer; was elected to the PLC as an independent in the Ramallah district in the Jan. 1996 elections; was appointed PA Minister of Agriculture for two years, but resigned over criticism of Yasser Arafat’s practices in Aug. 1998; among the 20 signatories of a public statement titled “A Cry from the Homeland”, criticizing the “tyranny, corruption, humiliation and abuse of the Palestinian people” by the PA in late Nov. 1999; among his publications: Israeli Policy of De-Institutionalization: A Case Study of Palestinian Local Government (Amman, 1987), The Collective Destruction of Palestinian Villages and Zionist Colonization (1882-1982) (with Walid Mustafa, London/Amman, 1987), and Israel’s Deportation Policy: The Human, Legal and Political Ramifications (Amman, 1993).
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Achievements and Awards
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