Nabil Shaath

Nabil Shaath (R), 2004

Nabil Shaath (L) with Yasser Arafat and Benjamin Netanyahu at the World Economic Forum in Davos, 1997

With the President of Brazil, Lula da Silva.

Nabil Shaath (Arabic: نبيل شعث‎, Nabīl Shaʿath, also spelled Sha'ath; born 1938 in Safad) is a senior Palestinian official who has held the following titles:

• Palestinian chief negotiator
• Palestinian cabinet minister
• Palestinian International Co-operation Minister
• Planning Minister for the Palestinian National Authority
• Acting Prime Minister of the PNA

Career overview

Shaath served as the Palestinian Authority's first ever foreign minister from April 2003 to February 2005. Shaath made news on 2005-10-07 by commenting for a BBC documentary that in a 2003 meeting with United States President George W. Bush, Bush told him and other Palestinian officials that Bush was "driven with a mission from God."

According to Shaath, the quotation was this:

"God would tell me, George, go and fight those terrorists in Afghanistan. And I did, and then God would tell me, George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq... And I did.

"And now, again, I feel God's words coming to me, Go get the Palestinians their state and get the Israelis their security, and get peace in the Middle East. And by God I'm gonna do it."

Shaath later qualified his comments, saying that he and other world leaders at a Jordan summit two years ago "understood that he was illustrating [in his comments] his strong faith and his belief that this is what God wanted." Both the White House and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, who was also present at the meeting, denies that Bush ever made such a statement.^[1][2][3]

On December 15, 2005 Shaath became Acting Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority after Ahmad Qurei resigned. He lost that position nine days later when Qurei returned to office.

Business career

In 1976, Shaath started Team International as one of the first large Multi Arab Consulting Companies. By the early 1980s, Team Int. was already established as a field leader.^{[citation needed]}

Film appearances

Shaath will appear in the 2009 documentary "Back Door Channels: The Price of Peace" which deals with the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt.^[4] The film is being released by Channel Productions in New York City.^[5]

Political offices
Preceded by Ahmad Qurei	Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority - acting 2005	Succeeded by Ahmad Qurei

External links

• Bush God comments 'not literal' - BBC News
• http://www.backdoorchannels.com/

References

1. ^ "White House denies Bush claimed divine inspiration". http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/10/07/051007131357.nstalu7a.html. Retrieved 2008-06-07. 
2. ^ "Press Briefing by Scott McClellan". 2005-10-06. http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/10/20051006-6.html. Retrieved 2008-06-07. 
3. ^ "Abbas denies Bush's 'mission from God' remark - World - smh.com.au". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2005-10-08. http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/abbas-denies-bushs-mission-from-god-remark/2005/10/08/1128563027485.html. Retrieved 2008-06-07. 
4. ^ http://www.tvfestival.net/content/Opening-Film/openUK.php
5. ^ http://www.daily-fashion.com/cinema.html

Persondata
Name	Shaath, Nabil
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1938
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death