PLO Secretary General Saeb Erekat Passed Away

Ramallah, MINA – Saeb Erekat, Chairman of the Old Palestinian Negotiator and Secretary General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) died on Tuesday at the age of 65.

Erekat died after more than a month testing positive for Covid-19. He received a lung transplant in the United States in October 2017.

Prior to his death, he had received treatment at the Israel Hadassah Hospital, West Jerusalem, Wafa reported.

Erekat was born in East Jerusalem in 1955, graduated from the University of San Francisco in the US in 1977 with a BA in International Relations and an MA in Political Science in 1979.

He completed his Ph.D. in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Bradford in England in 1983. Erekat is also the author of eight books and numerous research papers on Middle Eastern politics and conflict resolution.

After completing his doctorate, Erekat moved to the West Bank city of Nablus, where he served as a political science professor at Al-Najah National University.He also serves on the editorial board of Al-Quds newspaper, the highest-circulating Palestinian daily.

In 1991, Erekat served as deputy chair of the Palestinian delegation to the Madrid Conference and then Deputy Chair of the further negotiations in Washington (1992-1993).

In 1994, he was appointed Chair of the Palestinian delegation for election negotiations and has since been a senior member of the Palestinian negotiating team. He has been heavily involved in all negotiations with Israel, including those at Camp David (2000) and at Taba (2001).

Previously, Erekat served as Minister of Regional Government in 1994. In 1993, he was appointed as Chairman of the Central KPU which prepares for presidential and legislative elections. He resigned from office to run for elections in Jericho. He was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) in 1996.

He also serves as Secretary General of the Arab Studies Society. Erekat has been Secretary General of the PLO Executive Committee since July 2015. He is also a member of the Fatah Central Committee (FCC).

In May 2012, Erekat was hospitalized in Ramallah after suffering a heart attack. In October 2017, he needed a lung transplant and was given one at Inova Fairfax Hospital in northern Virginia in the United States. On 9 October 2020, he tested positive for COVID-19, and remains in isolation at his home in Jericho. On 18 October 2020, after his health deteriorated, he was rushed to the Hadassah-Ein Karem University Hospital, in West Jerusalem, where he died at the age of 65.

He is survived by his wife, Niemeh Erekat, and four children, Dalal, Salam, Ali and Mohammad. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)