Karim Hanna Sama'an Khalaf (Arabic: كريم حنا خلف, 1937–March 30, 1985[1]) was a Palestinian attorney and politician who served as the mayor of Ramallah from 1972 to 1982.
Khalaf adopted largely moderate stances concerning Israel; he supported a policy of non-cooperation with the military occupation of the West Bank, but was among the first Palestinian public officials to advocate a two-state peace solution.
This change in attitude allowed Khalaf to win a second term; in a year when many officials in the West Bank were voted out of office for not adequately backing Arafat and his aims.
The Jewish Underground, an Israeli militant group, compiled a report suggesting that Khalaf and a handful of other prominent Palestinian officials had ordered the killings.
Israel's internal security service, Shin Bet, began an investigation into the bombings, but the Jewish Underground was not discovered as the culprit for several years.