Saeb Muhammad Salih Erekat (also Erikat, Erakat or Arekat; , ; 28 April 195510 November 2020) was a Palestinian politician and diplomat who was the secretary general of the executive committee of the PLO from 2015 until his death in 2020. He served as chief of the PLO Steering and Monitoring Committee until 12 February 2011. He participated in early negotiations with Israel and remained chief negotiator from 1995 until May 2003, when he resigned in protest from the Palestinian government. He reconciled with the party and was reappointed to the post in September 2003. Erekat died in the Hadassah Ein Karem Hospital in Jerusalem of complications from COVID-19 on 10 November 2020, at the age of 65.

Personal life and education

Erekat was born in Abu Dis. He was a member of the Palestinian branch of the Erekat family, itself a branch of the Howeitat tribal confederation. Erekat was one of seven children, with his brothers and sisters living outside of Israel or Palestine. He was 12 years old when the Israelis occupied the West Bank, and was detained by them a year later for writing anti-occupation graffiti, posting fliers and throwing stones. He spent two years at City College of San Francisco, a two-year community college.

Erekat was married to Neameh, and was the father of twin daughters Dalal and Salam; and two sons, Ali and Muhammad. an event which was followed by the Second Intifada. He also acted as Arafat's English interpreter. When Mahmoud Abbas was nominated to serve as Prime Minister of the Palestinian Legislative Council in early 2003, Erekat was slated to be Minister of Negotiations in the new cabinet, but he soon resigned after he was excluded from a delegation to meet Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. This was interpreted as part of an internal Palestinian power struggle between Abbas and Arafat. Erekat was later reappointed to his post and participated in the 2007 Annapolis Conference, where he took over from Ahmed Qurei during an impasse and helped hammer out a joint declaration.

He resigned from his post as chief negotiator on 12 February 2011 citing the release of the Palestine Papers. In July 2013, however, he was still holding the function. In 2015, he became the secretary-general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization. He later promoted a plan for the basis for new talks with international diplomats including Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and special adviser.

Legacy

Erekat was one of the more prominent Palestinian spokespeople in the Western media. He wrote extensively in the media about Palestinian statehood, and was a vocal critic of the Trump administration's peace plan.

Erekat at one time maintained good relations with his counterpart negotiators, in which Israeli justice minister Tsipi Livni mentioned that her talks with Erekat were always honest, and there was mutual respect despite frequent disagreements.

On 12 October 2017, he had a lung transplant at Inova Fairfax Hospital in northern Virginia, United States.

Erekat, who was suffering from pulmonary fibrosis, tested positive for COVID-19 on 9 October 2020. On 18 October, he was sent to the Hadassah Ein Karem Hospital in Jerusalem in critical condition. On 21 October, his daughter said on Twitter that he underwent a bronchoscopy to examine the condition of his respiratory system. Erekat died of complications from COVID-19 on 10 November 2020, at the age of 65.

Works

  • Imam Ali Bin Abi Taleb and Negotiations (2015)

See also

  • Arab–Israeli conflict
  • Israeli–Palestinian conflict
  • Foreign relations of Israel
  • Salah Al-Zawawi

References

  • Saeb Erekat debates Dan Meridor at the International Peace Institute, June 25, 2010 (video)
  • San Francisco State University magazine interview with Saeb Erekat
  • Interview with Erekat from August 1991

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