Rula Maayah

Rula Maayah 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 government of Rami Hamdallah and again from 2019 to 2024, in the Shtayyeh government.^[1]

Rula Maayah
Minister of Tourism and Antiquities
In office 16 May 2012 – 1 April 2024
President	Mahmoud Abbas
Preceded by	Khouloud Daibes
Personal details
Born	(1970-08-02) August 2, 1970 (age 55) Jerusalem
Nationality	Palestinian
Political party	Fatah
Alma mater	Birzeit University, Bethlehem University

Biography

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.^[2][3]

While Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Maayah criticised a 2013 exhibition at the Israel Museum displaying artefacts removed from the Herodium in the West Bank for display without consultation.^[4] During the 2014 Gaza War, Maayah encouraged the international community to condemn the damage to heritage sites caused by the war.^[5]

Maayah characterised the destruction of cultural heritage during the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip as undermining Palestinian identity.^[6]