Anwar al-Khatib ( ar, أنور الخطيب; 1917–1993) was a Palestinian politician based in Jerusalem.
Career
Khatib was born in
Hebron
Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after Eas ...
,
Palestine, towards the end of the
Ottoman Caliphate
The Caliphate of the Ottoman Empire ( ota, خلافت مقامى, hilâfet makamı, office of the caliphate) was the claim of the heads of the Turkish Ottoman dynasty to be the caliphs of Islam in the late medieval and the early modern era. ...
. He was from a prominent land-owning Hebron and East Jerusalemite family whose name "Khatib" stemmed from the deliverance of Islamic sermons by
imams during Friday prayer and
Eid prayers
Eid prayers, also referred to as Salat al-Eid ( ar, صلاة العيد), are holy holiday prayers in the Islamic tradition. The literal translation of the word "Eid" in Arabic is "festival" or "feast" and is a time when Muslims congregate with ...
. He started his political career as a lawyer at the Palestine Higher Islamic Council. He then headed a municipal executive committee between 1949 and 1950, when he was
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
of
East Jerusalem, but was replaced to find someone more experienced in Palestinian tribal history. Due to Jordan not formally annexing the West Bank until April 24, 1950, Khatib inherited civil authorities of Palestine, but he subsequently served district commissioner of
Old Jerusalem, carrying out administrative duties under the Jordanian government, after being appointed by
Abdullah I of Jordan
AbdullahI bin Al-Hussein ( ar, عبد الله الأول بن الحسين, translit=Abd Allāh al-Awwal bin al-Husayn, 2 February 1882 – 20 July 1951) was the ruler of Jordan from 11 April 1921 until his assassination in 1951. He was the Emi ...
. After the 1967 Israeli invasion, he was banished to
Safed on charges of "incitement to subversion" against Israel and were put under police surveillance with orders to report to the police three times a day. He refused to acknowledge the dismissal and found employment as director of the Arab Hotels Company and the Jerusalem Electric Company but attempted to reinstate his old office. He died of a heart attack in East Jerusalem in 1993.
[Trapped Fools, ]Shlomo Gazit
Shlomo Gazit ( he, שלמה גזית; 22 October 1926 – 8 October 2020) was an Israeli military officer and academic. A Major General in the Israel Defense Forces, he headed Israel's Military Intelligence Directorate. He later served as Presid ...
- 2004, p 195
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khatib, Anwar
1917 births
1993 deaths
Mayors of Jerusalem
Palestinian politicians
People from Jerusalem
People from Hebron