Biography
Yahyia Yakhluf was born in 1944 in the village of Samakh, bordering
Lake Tiberias.
In May 1948, when the city was shelled and fell to the Israelis, his
family fled to Jordan. Samakh was demolished, & Israeli settlers occupied
it.
Yakhluf joined the PLO in 1967 & obtained a BA in Arabic literature
from the Beirut Arab university in 1971. For many years, he was the secretary-general
of the Palestinian Writers Union, assistant secretary-general of the Arab
Writers Union, and director general of the PLOs cultural department.
Since 1994, he has been deputy minister of culture in the Palestinian
National Authority. He is a married father of three.