11 Nov
The longtime Palestinian chief negotiator in Middle East peace talks, Saeb Erekat, has died after contracting the coronavirus last month. He was 65 years old.
A hospital in Jerusalem where Erekat was treated said on Tuesday that he died earlier in the day.
He received a lung transplant three years ago. Erekat died following multiple organ failure.
Born near Jerusalem, Erekat earned a Ph.D. in peace studies from a British university and worked as a university lecturer in the West Bank.
He was a member of the Palestinian delegation to an international conference in 1991 that helped start Middle East peace talks.
He was named the chief Palestinian negotiator when peace talks with Israel began following the 1993 Oslo Accords.
Erekat is said to have won the trust of then-Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and current Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Erekat worked as a liaison with the United States after peace talks broke down in 2014.
Abbas said in a statement that "The Palestinian nation lost a man who stood at the forefront of rights for the Palestinian people, fought in every local and international arena and brought the name of Palestine to every possible stage in the world."
NHK
