Khatib holds a PhD in Middle East politics from
Durham University (2007), an MA in Development Studies from the
University of Manchester (1986). and a BA Business Administration and Economics from
Birzeit University (1982). He is lecturer of Contemporary Arab Studies and International Studies at Birzeit University. He has served as Director of Government Media Center in 2009–2012 and Palestinian Minister of Labor 2002–2004 and Minister of Planning 2005–2006. Khatib was vice-president for community outreach in 2006–2009, and vice president for Advancement in 2012–2016 at Birzeit University. He was Founder and director of the
Jerusalem Media & Communication Centre, which specializes in research, opinion polling and media activities. He was a member of the Palestinian delegation for the
Madrid Middle East Peace Conference in 1991 and the subsequent bilateral Palestinian-Israeli negotiations in Washington from 1991 to 1993. Khatib co-founded and co-directed bitterlemons.org, a Palestinian-Israeli internet-based political magazine. He was a member of the Joint Working Group on Israel-Palestine Relations at Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at
Harvard University. Khatib was tricked into appearing in the 2009 mockumentary
Brüno, where
Sacha Baron Cohen tried to solve the Middle East crisis in a sit-down with Khatib and
Yossi Alpher. ==Work==