Rula Maayah

Rula Maayah
رولا معايعة
Minister of Tourism and Antiquities
In office 16 May 2012 – 31 March 2024
President	Mahmoud Abbas
Prime Minister	Salam Fayyad Rami Hamdallah Mohammad Shtayyeh
Preceded by	Khouloud Daibes
Succeeded by	Hani al-Hayek
Personal details
Born	Rula Nabil Gibran Maaya (1970-08-02) 2 August 1970 (age 56) Jerusalem
Party	Fatah
Education	Birzeit University Bethlehem University
Occupation	Politician

Rula Maayah (Arabic: رولا معايعة; born 2 August 1970) is a Palestinian politician who served as the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities from 2012 to 2013, in the Salam Fayyad government, and from 2013 to 2019, in the Rami Hamdallah government and again from 2019 to 2024, in the Mohammad Shtayyeh government.

Biography

Rula Nabil Gibran Maaya was born on 2 August 1970 in Jerusalem. Maayah is a member of the Fatah political party and has also served in other Palestinian government ministries such as the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Ministry of Justice. She currently resides in Ramallah and Bethlehem and is a member of The Higher Presidential Committee of Churches Affairs in Palestine.

While Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Maayah criticised a 2013 exhibition at the Israel Museum displaying artifacts removed from the Herodium in the West Bank for display without consultation. During the 2014 Gaza War, Maayah encouraged the international community to condemn the damage to heritage sites caused by the war.

Maayah described the destruction of cultural heritage during the Gaza war as undermining Palestinian identity. In April 2024, Hani al-Hayek replaced Maayah as Minister of Tourism and Antiquities.

References