sentences:  He died on June 29, 2001, in Beirut.In the aftermath of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Hakim negotiated with Yehoshua ("Josh") Palmon, then leader of the "Arab Section" in the Israeli Foreign Ministry, for the return of Galilee Christian Arabs (then refugees in Lebanon) in exchange for Hakim's future goodwill towards the Jewish State.In the end, several thousand (including several hundred from Eilabun) Galilee Christians were allowed to return in the summer of 1949.