Israeli-Palestinian Negotiating PartnersSteering Committee
IPNP IS GUIDED by a steering committee comprised of equal numbers of highly trained and experienced Israeli and Palestinian negotiators.
The current steering committee is comprised of:
Bari Bar Zion has been the Director General of Bikur Cholim Hospital in Jerusalem since 2004. Between 1997 and 2002 Bari served as the Senior Advisor to the Director-General of the Israeli Ministry of Finance, dealing with a wide variety of economic and policy issues. Also, during this period, Mr. Bar-Zion coordinated the economic relations of Israel with the Palestinian Authority and was an active member of the economic negotiation teams with the Palestinians, including the during Camp David talks of 2000. In the years 1996 - 1997 Bari was the Business Advisor to the Director General and budget officer of the Israel State Lottery Mifal Ha-Payis. Prior to that, between the years 1991 - 1995 Bari was a Deputy Director and later on a Director and an establisher of local newspapers owned by Yediot Aharonot - Israel's largest media conglomerate. Bari holds a B.A. Magna Cum Laude in Economics and Business Administration and an M.B.A., both from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a Master in Public Administration from the J.F. Kennedy School of Government at the Harvard University.
Moty Cristal established the Israeli Palestinian Negotiating Partners with colleagues, in cooperation with Professor Roger Fisher, head of the Harvard Negotiation Project and author of Getting to Yes. Mr. Cristal is currently writing his PhD in the Department of International Relations at the London School of Economics. Since 2001, he has taught and trained negotiation and crisis management to senior managers in both the private and public sectors. He also consults in strategic and complex negotiation, negotiation support, and crisis management in Israel, Europe, the US, and Asia. He teaches international negotiation at the Diplomacy Studies Department at Tel Aviv University, and crisis negotiation at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzelia. Mr. Cristal has been a leading team member in the IDF Crisis Negotiation Unit since 1998, where he has led the preparatory and operational work of the unit during the recent Gaza disengagement. From 1994 to 2001, he served in various official positions in Israeli negotiation teams with Jordan and the Palestinians, and experienced years of cross-cultural negotiations within the Israeli-Arab conflict. His last position was Deputy Head of the Negotiation Management Center within Prime Minister Barak's office. In this capacity Mr. Cristal attended the Camp David and Taba Summits, and was in charge of the preparatory work, scenario planning, and crisis management analysis following the outbreak of the current violence in September 2000. Between 2001 and 2003, Mr. Cristal served as the Company's Secretary of the Israel National Lottery (Mifal Hapais) and the Director of the Lottery funds, exercising his negotiation and legal skills in the private sector. He holds a law degree from Bar-Ilan University and a Masters in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Fayez Husseini graduated with a BS/BA in Finance from the Kogod School of Business at the American University in Washington DC. Afterwards he briefly joined a European Union Consulting firm in Athens specializing in the reconstruction of the Public sector in Eastern Europe. In 1993, Mr. Husseini joined the Economic Development Group, a European Union funded credit agency as Assistant General Manager and later was appointed GM. In 1995 he was appointed Head of Corporate Banking and Merchant Banking operations at Cairo Amman Bank. In 1998, Mr. Husseini joined the Palestinian Commercial Services Company as Investment Manager overseeing a large portfolio of investments in various sectors that included industry, services, tourism and construction. In late 2001, he joined Jawwal as Product Development Manager then as Customer Care Manager and most recently was promoted to Chief Marketing Officer responsible for operating and overseeing JAWWAL's frontline operations. Currently Mr. Husseini works for Accelerator Technology Holdings.
Issa Kassissieh is the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority. Previously he was a policy analyst in the PLO's Negotiation Affairs Department. An expert on the issue of Jerusalem in a final status agreement, Mr. Kassissieh has been deeply involved in both official and second-track negotiations with the Israelis. During his eight years working as the Director of the International Relations Department at the Orient House in Jerusalem, he was head of the Palestinian team for multilateral talks and the official responsible for the Jerusalem portfolio. Mr. Kassissieh received a Masters in Public Administration as a fellow in the Edward Mason Program at the Kennedy School of Government, a Masters in International Relations from Bir Zeit University and another Masters in Diplomacy and Statecraft from the University of Birmingham. His undergraduate degree in English Literature was completed at Bethlehem University. For six months, Mr. Kassissieh was CMG's first IPNP fellow-in-residence.
The current steering committee is comprised of:
Bari Bar Zion has been the Director General of Bikur Cholim Hospital in Jerusalem since 2004. Between 1997 and 2002 Bari served as the Senior Advisor to the Director-General of the Israeli Ministry of Finance, dealing with a wide variety of economic and policy issues. Also, during this period, Mr. Bar-Zion coordinated the economic relations of Israel with the Palestinian Authority and was an active member of the economic negotiation teams with the Palestinians, including the during Camp David talks of 2000. In the years 1996 - 1997 Bari was the Business Advisor to the Director General and budget officer of the Israel State Lottery Mifal Ha-Payis. Prior to that, between the years 1991 - 1995 Bari was a Deputy Director and later on a Director and an establisher of local newspapers owned by Yediot Aharonot - Israel's largest media conglomerate. Bari holds a B.A. Magna Cum Laude in Economics and Business Administration and an M.B.A., both from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a Master in Public Administration from the J.F. Kennedy School of Government at the Harvard University.
Moty Cristal established the Israeli Palestinian Negotiating Partners with colleagues, in cooperation with Professor Roger Fisher, head of the Harvard Negotiation Project and author of Getting to Yes. Mr. Cristal is currently writing his PhD in the Department of International Relations at the London School of Economics. Since 2001, he has taught and trained negotiation and crisis management to senior managers in both the private and public sectors. He also consults in strategic and complex negotiation, negotiation support, and crisis management in Israel, Europe, the US, and Asia. He teaches international negotiation at the Diplomacy Studies Department at Tel Aviv University, and crisis negotiation at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzelia. Mr. Cristal has been a leading team member in the IDF Crisis Negotiation Unit since 1998, where he has led the preparatory and operational work of the unit during the recent Gaza disengagement. From 1994 to 2001, he served in various official positions in Israeli negotiation teams with Jordan and the Palestinians, and experienced years of cross-cultural negotiations within the Israeli-Arab conflict. His last position was Deputy Head of the Negotiation Management Center within Prime Minister Barak's office. In this capacity Mr. Cristal attended the Camp David and Taba Summits, and was in charge of the preparatory work, scenario planning, and crisis management analysis following the outbreak of the current violence in September 2000. Between 2001 and 2003, Mr. Cristal served as the Company's Secretary of the Israel National Lottery (Mifal Hapais) and the Director of the Lottery funds, exercising his negotiation and legal skills in the private sector. He holds a law degree from Bar-Ilan University and a Masters in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Fayez Husseini graduated with a BS/BA in Finance from the Kogod School of Business at the American University in Washington DC. Afterwards he briefly joined a European Union Consulting firm in Athens specializing in the reconstruction of the Public sector in Eastern Europe. In 1993, Mr. Husseini joined the Economic Development Group, a European Union funded credit agency as Assistant General Manager and later was appointed GM. In 1995 he was appointed Head of Corporate Banking and Merchant Banking operations at Cairo Amman Bank. In 1998, Mr. Husseini joined the Palestinian Commercial Services Company as Investment Manager overseeing a large portfolio of investments in various sectors that included industry, services, tourism and construction. In late 2001, he joined Jawwal as Product Development Manager then as Customer Care Manager and most recently was promoted to Chief Marketing Officer responsible for operating and overseeing JAWWAL's frontline operations. Currently Mr. Husseini works for Accelerator Technology Holdings.
Issa Kassissieh is the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority. Previously he was a policy analyst in the PLO's Negotiation Affairs Department. An expert on the issue of Jerusalem in a final status agreement, Mr. Kassissieh has been deeply involved in both official and second-track negotiations with the Israelis. During his eight years working as the Director of the International Relations Department at the Orient House in Jerusalem, he was head of the Palestinian team for multilateral talks and the official responsible for the Jerusalem portfolio. Mr. Kassissieh received a Masters in Public Administration as a fellow in the Edward Mason Program at the Kennedy School of Government, a Masters in International Relations from Bir Zeit University and another Masters in Diplomacy and Statecraft from the University of Birmingham. His undergraduate degree in English Literature was completed at Bethlehem University. For six months, Mr. Kassissieh was CMG's first IPNP fellow-in-residence.