Birth: NULL/NULL/1947 Death:NULL/NULL/NULL
Born in Deir Tarif near Lydda on 15 Aug. 1947; became with his family refugee in 1948, ending up in Ramallah; studied Law at Ein Shams University, Cairo, graduating with a BA in 1970; returned to Ramallah in 1972; opened a law office in Al-Bireh and worked as a lawyer in the Islamic Court; was elected deputy (acting) mayor of Al-Bireh in 1976 (until the dismissal of the council by Israeli authorities in 1982); serves as Dir.-Gen. of Tarifi General Contracts, a family business based in Ramallah since 1982; was active in the National Guidance Committee in the early 1980s; Fateh member; was member of the Advisory Committee to the Palestinian delegation to the 1991 Madrid conference; led the Palestinian team in the PLO-Israel talks on transfer of authority over health, education, and other services at Al-Arish, Egypt, in Nov. 1993; signed with his Israeli counterpart, Oren Shahor, an agreement to transfer eight further ‘civilian powers’ to the PA on 27 Aug. 1995; was closely involved in the negotiations of the Oslo II Agreement of Sept. 1995; was elected PLC member (independent) for the Ramallah district in the Jan. 1996 elections; lost a son, Wissam, aged 17, during a demonstration in Ramallah to protest the Wye River Agreement in Oct. 1998; was a member of the safe passage negotiating team in 1999; was appointed Civil Affairs Minister in the PA’s interim cabinet in June 2002 (until Oct. 2002); re-appointed as such in the Nov. 2003 govt. of PM Ahmed Qrei’a (until the cabinet reshuffle in Feb. 2005); ran unsuccessfully in the 2006 PLC elections (Independent, Ramallah district).
