He is a Palestinian politician, obtained his PhD from University of Durham in Britain. He was born in Nablus, in the West Bank and is a member of the Palestinian People’s Party. Khatib is married with 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 in the Palestinian National Authority Minister of labor in 2002, then Planning in 2005-2006.He wrote many publications as” The collapse of the Peace Process and the Rise of Hamas” as well as other editorials.

 He was formerly the Director of the Jerusalem Media and Communications Center (JMCC), a non governmental organization that conducts public opinion polls and provides media support to journalists in the Palestinian territories. A long time advocate of Palestinian – Israeli dialogue, Khatib co- founded and was director of bitter lemons org, a  Palestinian-Israeli internet based political magazine. Khatib was also the President of the Board of Directors of the Arab Development  Center, an agricultural development organization and a member of the Advisory Board of Palestinian politics. He also served as co founder  of the Democracy and Worker’s Rights  Center and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Friends schools in Palestine. At present, Khatib is Vice president at Bierzeit University and regularly lectures at the Cultural studies Department.   

Minister of Planning & Labour

Dr. Samir Abdullah finished his Ph.D. in economics in 1984, and started his career as Assistant Professor at Al-Najah National University in Nablus in 1985, becoming chairman of the  Economics Department from 1986 to 1989 and being promoted to Associate Professor in 1990. Dr. Abdullah was selected as Member of the Palestinian Delegation to the Bilateral Peace Negotiations and the Multilateral Middle East Economic Working Group in 1991. During the period 1992-1996 he served as the Head of the Palestinian Counterpart Team to the World Bank, the Director General of the Economic Policy and Project Selection Office at PECDAR, and the Deputy Minister of Economy. At the end of 1996 he moved to the private sector, where he served as the General Manager of the Arab Palestine Investment Bank (APIB) until 1999. He was then Director General of PALTRADE from 1999-2003, and the Director General of the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS) from April 2004 to mid June 2007, when he joined the Cabinet. He became a Director of the Palestine Monetary Authority in 2005, and represented it in the Palestine Capital Market Authority until the end of 2006.
Dr. Abdullah has made an active contribution to the NGO sector and community development in Palestine, establishing and chairing many organisations. During his academic and professional career he has also conducted numerous research papers which have been published locally and abroad.
E-Mail: sabdullah@mop.gov.ps; sabdullah@mol.gov.ps

Sameer A. Abu-Eisheh is a Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering. He got a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University, U.S.A., in 1987. He served as the President’s Assistant for Planning and Development, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, and Head of the Department of Civil Engineering at An-Najah National University. He was a visiting Professor at Lille University, France, University of Washington and Texas A&M University, U.S.A., and University of Braunschweig, Germany. He authored more than 60 papers, prepared many studies, and participated in authoring two books.

He is a senior expert in the planning, engineering and management of transportation and infrastructure systems, and in institutional development and higher education. His experience is also highlighted by his previous role as Minister of Planning, Acting Minister of Finance, Acting Minister of Education and Higher Education, and Acting Deputy Prime Minister. He served as the Chair or Member of many Ministerial Committees, including the Administrative, Reform and Development in Land Management and Public Land, the Settlements, Wall, and Land, Economic, and Infrastructure Committees. He served as the Chair of the Consultative Council for Official Statistics, and as a Member of the Palestinian Investment Fund.

He also has versatile experience in consulting, as he has been serving as a Senior Consultant in Transportation and Infrastructure Planning and Engineering for the Universal Group for Engineering and Consulting, and as a freelance Consultant. He has offered consulting services to various international and local organizations and authorities, including the World Bank, The Islamic Development Bank, USAID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, Welfare Association, and many ministries, agencies and local authorities. He acted as the Project Manager or Senior Expert in a number of major projects in Palestine, U.S.A., and U.A.E. He has versatile experience in transportation planning, traffic engineering, roadway design, industrial estate development, and infrastructure development.

On-Leave from An-Najah National University to the Palestinian National Authority; served as an Independent Technocrat in the Tenth and Eleventh Palestinian Governments, March 2006 to June 2007. He was assigned the following responsibilities:

The Eleventh Palestinian Government
• Minister of Planning, March to June 2007, and Acting Minister of Education and Higher Education, May to June 2007.
• Chairperson of the Ministerial Administrative Committee, Chairperson of the Ministerial Committee for Non-Ministerial Governmental Agencies, Chairperson of the Ministerial Committee for Reform and Development in Land Management and Public Land, Member of the Ministerial Economic Committee, and Member of the Ministerial Infrastructure Committee, March to June 2007.
• Chairperson of the Consultative Council for Official Statistics, March to June 2007.

The Tenth Palestinian Government
• Minister of Planning, March 2006 to March 2007, Acting Minister of Finance, August 2006 to March 2007, and Acting Deputy Prime Minister, August to October 2006.
• Chairperson of the Ministerial Administrative Committee, Chairperson of the Ministerial Committee for Non-Ministerial Governmental Agencies, Chairperson of the Ministerial Committee for Reform and Development in Land Management and Public Land, Chairperson of the Ministerial Committee on Settlements, the Wall, and Land, Member of the Ministerial Economic Committee, and Member of the Ministerial Infrastructure Committee, March to June 2007.
• Chairperson of the Consultative Council for Official Statistics, March 2006 to March 2007.
• Member of the Palestinian Investment Fund, August 2006 to March 2007.

Dr. Kassis has a M. Sc. In Nuclear Physics, University of Mainz, Germany, 1969, and Ph.D. in Nuclear Physics, American University, Beirut, Lebanon, 1972. He held various teaching and research positions in several countries before joining Birzeit University in 1980, where he also served as Academic VP from 1985-1989. In 1991 Dr. Kassis was nominated to join the Palestinian delegation to the Madrid Peace Conference and remained involved in the peace negotiations on and off until 2000. In 1994, Dr. Kassis founded the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS) and became its first Director, a position which he held until 1998 when he was appointed as PNA Cabinet Minister in charge of the Bethlehem 2000 project under the late President Yasser Arafat. In 2002 he became Minister of Tourism, also under Arafat, and in 2003 he was appointed Minister of Planning in the Government of Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and retained this position in the Government of PM Ahmad Qurei. In September 2004 Dr. Kassis left the government and assumed his current post as the President of Birzeit University. He is member of the Board of Governors of the Palestine Monetary Authority, Chairman of the Audit Committee of the PNA, and Chairman of the Yasser Arafat Prize Committee, and member of the Board in several organizations.