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Image posted, Reuters
In 2017, Erekat underwent a lung transplant
Saeb Erekat, the prominent Palestinian spokesman for decades, passed away Tuesday after being infected with the coronavirus at the age of 65.
Erekat served as the lead negotiator in the US-brokered peace talks with Israel that collapsed in 2014, and he also served as Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organization and was a prominent member of the Fatah movement.
Erekat was one of the most prominent advocates of the two-state solution to ending the conflict with Israel and a sharp critic of its settlement policy in the occupied lands, saying it could destroy prospects for the establishment of a viable Palestinian state.
On October 8, Erekat announced that he had been infected with the Coronavirus.
In 2017, Erekat underwent a lung transplant in the United States, which suppressed his immune system.
Erekat was transferred from his home in the West Bank city of Jericho to the Hadassah Medical Center in Israel last week, and doctors put him on a respirator and he went into a medical coma after his health deteriorated.
Zeev Rothstein, director of Hadassah Medical Center, had previously said that “Erekat receives first-class professional care like all Corona patients, and the staff will do everything possible to help him recover.”
He added: “Here we treat each patient as if they were our only patient.”
A statement from the Palestine Liberation Organization said: “After Dr. Erekat became infected with Covid 19 and due to his chronic health problems in the respiratory system, his health condition now requires hospital care and he was transferred to a hospital in Tel Aviv. “
Erekat was respected and admired by many Palestinians, especially President Mahmoud Abbas and the leaders of the Fatah movement, and was considered one of the creators of the Oslo Accord that the Palestinians signed with Israel in 1990.
Erekat was elected in 2006 as a member of the Fatah Central Committee, the movement’s highest leadership body, and in 2009 he became a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Erekat has nine political books, the most prominent of which are “Al-Hayat Negotiations”, which was published in 2008, and “Between Ali and Rogues” in 2014.
