Karim Khalaf

Karim Hanna Khalaf (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 Christian family from Ramallah as one of eight children. His father, Hanna S. Khalaf, spent several years living in the United States as a young man and eventually parlayed the profits from his import business there into a successful business career in his native Ramallah. Khalaf attended the University of Cairo in Egypt and returned to the West Bank to begin his legal career. 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 betewen "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.

Assassination Attempt

In early 1980, a group of Israeli university students were murdered in Hebron by Palestinian terrorists. The Jewish Underground, an Israeli terrorist group, compiled a report suggesting that Mayor Khalaf and a handful of other prominent Palestinian officials had ordered the killings. In May, the group planted three car bombs in vehicles belonging to the alleged architects of the Hebron massacre - including Khalaf. The bombs seriously injured Bassam Shaka'a, the then-Mayor of Nablus, and Khalaf. Both were hospitalized in critical condition, and the incident resulted in Shaka'a losing both of his legs. Khalaf lost his right foot in the attack, and used a prosthesis and walking cane for the remainder of his life. Israel's internal security service, Shin Bet, began an investigation into the bombings, but the Jewish Underground was not discovered as the culprit for several years. Members involved were sentenced to prison terms of varying lengths. No verifiable evidence was ever found linking Khalaf to the Hebron attack, and it is generally accepted that he was not involved.

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, and was survived by his wife and daughter.

ources

* "The Road to Emmaus", by James M. Wall, "The Christian Century" [http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1202]
* Brief biography [http://www.zajel.org/article_view.asp?newsID=855&cat=10]

ee also

* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,924203,00.html "Two Teeth for a Tooth!"] Monday, Jun. 16, 1980 Time Magazine
*Donald Neff: [http://www.washington-report.org/backissues/0699/9906087.html Jewish Terrorists Try to Assassinate Three Palestinian Mayors] Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, June 1999, pages 87-88