American-educated Saeb Erekat was involved in nearly every round of peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians Palestinians declared three days of mourning JERUSALEM: Saeb Erekat, a veteran chief negotiator for the Palestinian cause, died Tuesday of coronavirus complications at the age of 65, in a death mourned as a “great loss” for his people. Erekat was a long-time architect of plans to end the conflict with Israel through the creation of an independent Palestinian state, a goal he would not live to see achieved. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas called the passing of “a brother and friend .. a great loss for Palestine and our people” and declared three days of mourning for Erekat, the Palestine Liberation Organization’s secretary general. Erekat, a lung transplant recipient who suffered from pulmonary fibrosis, was admitted last month to the intensive care unit of Israel’s Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital in west Jerusalem. Given his prior respiratory conditions, his prognosis for recovery had been dim. “Unfortunately, his condition didn’t improve and remained critical, and he passed away amidst multiple system failure,” Hadassah said in a statement. Erekat was born in Jerusalem in 1955, but later lived in Jericho in the occupied West Bank. I extend my deepest condolences to the family of #SaebErekat and the Palestinian people. You remained convinced that #Israel and #Palestine can live in #peace; never gave up on negotiations; and stood proudly for your people! We will miss you, my friend. May you rest in peace! — Nickolay E. MLADENOV (@nmladenov) November 10, 2020 He grew up in the shadow of Israel’s crushing victory over its Arab neighbors in the Six-Day War of 1967, and dedicated much of his life to seeking a resolution to the conflict. But he was forced to watch as the prospects for the two-state solution he longed for grew increasingly remote, undermined by Israeli settlement expansion, sporadic violence and Palestinian divisions. To the dismay of Palestinians, Washington under US President Donald Trump in 2017 recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. When Israel and the United Arab Emirates agreed to normalize ties in recent months, Erekat charged this would kill the two-state solution, strengthen “extremists” and undermine the “possibility of peace.” Condolences poured in from Israel, abroad and Gaza, led by Hamas which is a rival of Erekat’s Fatah movement. Hamas chief Ismail Hanniyeh offered “condolences” to his “brothers” in Fatah. Former Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni, who represented the Jewish state in peace talks with the Palestinians and established a personal relationship with Erekat, said the Palestinian negotiator had “dedicated his life to his people.” “Reaching Peace is my destiny, (Erekat) used to say,” Livni wrote on Twitter. I’m saddened by the death of @ErakatSaeb. Saeb dedicated his life to his people. Reaching Peace is my destiny he used to say. Being sick, he texted me: “I’m not finished with what I was born to do”. My deepest condolences to the Palestinians and his family. He will be missed. — ציפי לבני Tzipi Livni (@Tzipi_Livni) November 10, 2020 UN Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov praised Erekat as someone who “never gave up on negotiations; and stood proudly for your people!“ Egypt, which in 1979 became the first Arab state to make peace with Israel, praised Erekat as “a steadfast fighter ... who spent his life diligently pursuing the rights of the Palestinian people.” Arab-Israeli lawmaker Ayman Odeh, who heads the mainly Arab Joint List coalition, said: “Saeb won’t get to see his people freed from the occupation. But generations of Palestinians will remember him as one of the giants who dedicated his life for their independence.” German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass called on political leaders to honor Erekat’s “legacy” by remaining committed to negotiations, even if they require “controversial debates.” And Israeli anti-occupation civil society organization Peace Now said it would remember Erekat’s “dedication to peace and the two-state solution.” “As long as people like Erekat reach out their hand to peace, it’s our duty to negotiate,” it said in a statement. Erekat took part in the failed Camp David summit in July 2000, and the September 2010 talks in Washington, which stopped in a row over Israel’s settlement building. He was also chief negotiator in 2014 when then US president Barack Obama tried to restart peace efforts. A former journalist with the independent daily Al-Quds in east Jerusalem, Erekat held a BA and an MA in political science from the University of San Francisco. He also held a doctorate in peace studies from the University of Bradford in England, and taught at An-Najah University in the West Bank town of Nablus from 1979 to 1991. Erekat is survived by his wife and four children.