Saeb Erekat Dies at 65
The American-educated Erekat was involved in nearly every round of peace negotiations between Israel and the PA going back to the Madrid conference in 1991. Over the years, he was a constant media presence. He tirelessly argued for a negotiated solution to the decades-old conflict, defended the Palestinian leadership and blamed Israel - particularly hard-line leader Benjamin Netanyahu - for the failure to reach an agreement.
As a loyal aide to PA leaders - first Yasser Arafat and then Mahmoud Abbas - Erekat clung to this strategy until his death.
In the weeks leading up to his death, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain had normalized ties with Israel, breaking with the long-held Arab position that a deal on Palestinian statehood must precede normalization. Abbas and members of his inner circle, including Erekat, found themselves internationally sidelined and deeply unpopular among Palestinians. And decades of unfettered Israeli settlement expansion had made a statehood deal based on the partition of territory increasingly unlikely.
His Fatah party announced his death in a statement. A relative and a Palestinian official confirmed he passed away, speaking on condition of anonymity out of privacy concerns, AP reported.
