One of Yasser Arafat's closest friends and supporters, al-Masri has served as a minister in the cabinet of Jordan,[3] and has on multiple occasions declined both the presidency and the prime ministership of Palestine.

[6] In May 2013, al-Masri and high-level Israeli high-tech entrepreneur Yossi Vardi unveiled the Breaking the Impasse (BTI) Initiative at the World Economic Forum held at the Dead Sea.

"[9] The BTI Forum was hosted by King Abdullah of Jordan and attended by John Kerry, Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas.

[5] Between 1998 and 2000 he built a 70-acre estate with a palace that overlooks the city of Nablus, which he named Beit Falasteen or "House of Palestine", inspired by Andrea Palladio's 17th century Villa La Rotonda.

She noted that the palace was "built commandingly" on a hilltop, mirroring the Israeli settlements that were attempting to gain control of the land by occupying strategic locations.