Karim Khalaf

Karim Hanna Sama'an Khalaf (Arabic: كريم حنا خلف‎, 1935–1985) was a Palestinian attorney and politician who served as the Mayor of Ramallah from 1972 to 1982.

Early life and career

Khalaf was born into a wealthy Palestinian Christian family from Ramallah. His father, Hanna Khalaf, was a businessman who immigrated to the United States in 1921 and worked there for several years before ultimately returning to Ramallah. Khalaf attended Cairo University in Egypt, where he received a degree from the School of Law. In 1972, he was elected Mayor of Ramallah, having previously served as the city's District Attorney. Khalaf adopted largely moderate stances concerning Israel; he supported a policy of non-cooperation with the military occupation of the West Bank, but was among the first Palestinian public officials to advocate a two-state peace solution. In his early years as mayor, Khalaf was reluctant to deal with Yasser Arafat and the PLO. However, when he faced re-election in 1976, a split had begun to form between "pro-PLO" and "anti-PLO" politicians in the Palestinian municipalities. At this time, Khalaf began coordinating contacts with the PLO and promoting the group as the Palestinians' best vehicle for peace negotiations. This change in attitude allowed Khalaf to win a second term in a year when many officials in the West Bank were voted out of office for not adequately backing Arafat and his aims. He won election to a third term in 1980.

Khalaf married the former Teresa Santo Campers, originally from Italy, in 1965. They had two daughters together.^[1]

Removal from office and death

In March 1982, the Israeli government removed Khalaf from his mayoral post, forbade him from leaving the area, and replaced him with an Israeli military administrator. He died of a heart attack in 1985.

References

Sources

• "The Road to Emmaus", by James M. Wall, The Christian Century
• Brief biography

See also

• Palestinian Christians
• "Two Teeth for a Tooth!" Monday, Jun. 16, 1980 Time Magazine
• Donald Neff: Jewish Terrorists Try to Assassinate Three Palestinian Mayors Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, June 1999, pages 87–88