UN Move About 'Parity' with Israel, Says PLO Rep. Areikatbr The Christian Science Monitor - St. Regis Hotelbr On Monday, September 13, 2011, Palestinian Ambassador Maen Areikat joined the Monitor Lunch for a conversation with reporters.br br Maen Rashid Areikat is the Palestinian Ambassador to Washington. Prior to his appointment to Washington, Mr. Areikat was bestowed the br rank of Ambassador by Chairman of the PLO and Palestinian National br Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Maen Areikat served for 11 br years at the Negotiations Affairs Department (NAD) of the PLO in br Ramallah, most recently as its Deputy Head and Coordinator-General br (2008-2009). Areikat first joined NAD in 1998, when it was headed by br current Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), and served as br its Director-General until March 2008. In addition to overseeing NAD’s br day-to-day operations, Mr. Areikat was responsible for overseeing the br work of the Negotiations Support Unit (NSU), which provides legal, br policy, communication and technical support to Palestinian Negotiating br Teams and to the Palestinian Leadership.