Jan. 12, 2010, Washington, DC – The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) offers its condolences to the family and friends of noted businessman and philanthropist Hasib Sabbagh following the announcement today of his passing away. ATFP also offered condolences to the Palestinian people generally, in light of Mr. Sabbagh’s many important civic and philanthropic efforts over the years.

Hasib Sabbagh was born in Tiberias, Palestine in 1922 to a distinguished Palestinian family. In 1941 he earned a degree in civil engineering from AUB and in 1943, co-founded the Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) in Haifa. Following the establishment of Israel, CCC was reestablished in Beirut, Lebanon in 1950, and has since grown into the largest multinational corporation in the Middle East and one of the largest contracting companies in the world with over $4 billion in annual revenue and at least 160,000 employees.

Mr. Sabbagh was not only noted for his numerous civic and philanthropic efforts, he also was politically active for many years. He served as a member of the Palestine National Council (PNC) and was committed to peace based on two states. He was the leading Palestinian philanthropist and was associated with a wide range of social service, civic, humanitarian and educational institutions in the Middle East and around the world. He served as deputy chairman of the Health Care Organization of the West Bank and Gaza and chairman of the Palestinian Students Fund. He also founded the Diana Tamari Sabbagh Foundation, which focuses on health care and education in the United States, and gave substantial donations to institutions such The Cleveland Clinic Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital as well as numerous universities.