Saeb Erekat

{{Short description|Palestinian politician and diplomat (1955–2020)}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix =

| native_name = {{Nobold|{{lang|ar|صائب محمد صالح عريقات}}}}

| image = Saeb Erekat December 2014.jpg

| image_size =

| caption = Erekat in London, December 2014

| constituency_MP = Jericho

| parliament = Palestinian

| majority = 31,501

| term_start = 20 January 1996

| term_end = 10 November 2020

| birth_name = Saeb Muhammad Salih Erekat

| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1955|4|28}}

| birth_place = Abu Dis, Jordanian-annexed West Bank

| nationality = Palestinian

| spouse = {{marriage|Neameh Erekat|3 September 1981|10 November 2020|reason=d.}}

| party = Fatah

| children = 4

| residence = Jericho

| alma_mater = City College of San Francisco, San Francisco State University and University of Bradford

| relatives = Noura Erakat (niece)
Yousef Erakat (nephew)
Ahmad Erekat (nephew)

| death_date = {{death date and age|2020|11|10|1955|4|28|df=y}}

| death_place = Jerusalem

}}

Saeb Muhammad Salih Erekat ({{langx|ar|صائب محمد صالح عريقات}} Ṣāʼib ʻUrayqāt; also ʻRēqāt, Erikat, Erakat, Arekat; 28 April 1955{{spnd}}10 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.{{Cite web|url=https://ecfr.eu/special/mapping_palestinian_politics/saeb_erekat_fatah_plo/|title=Saeb Erekat (Secretary General)|website=ECFR|access-date=10 November 2020|archive-date=27 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127104030/https://ecfr.eu/special/mapping_palestinian_politics/saeb_erekat_fatah_plo/|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/profile/erakat-saeb|title=Saeb Erekat | The Guardian|website=the Guardian|access-date=23 June 2020|archive-date=26 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626145607/https://www.theguardian.com/profile/erakat-saeb|url-status=live}} 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.

Personal life and education

Erekat was born in Abu Dis.{{cite web |url=http://lawrenceofcyberia.blogs.com/palestinian_biographies/saeb-erekat-biography-1.html |title=Palestinian Biographies: Saeb Erekat |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222101035/http://lawrenceofcyberia.blogs.com/palestinian_biographies/saeb-erekat-biography-1.html |archive-date=22 February 2014 |website=lawrenceofcyberia.blogs.com |access-date=5 August 2017}}{{cite web |author=John Pike |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/palestine/saeb_erekat.htm |title=Saeb Erekat |publisher=Globalsecurity.org |access-date=5 August 2017 |archive-date=21 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160921152405/http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/palestine/saeb_erekat.htm |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.jmcc.org/politics/pna/newemerggov03.htm |title=Politics in Palestine, Palestinian National Authority: The PA Ministerial Cabinet List Emergency Cabinet, October 2003 – November 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070815135404/http://jmcc.org/politics/pna/newemerggov03.htm |archive-date=15 August 2007 |website=Jerusalem Media and Communication Centre}} He was a member of the Palestinian branch of the Erekat family, itself a branch of the Howeitat tribal confederation.{{cite web |url=https://rabettah.net/faces/faminfo/2741/عائلة-عريقات |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110203416/https://rabettah.net/faces/faminfo/2741/عائلة-عريقات|archive-date=10 November 2020 |trans-title=family Erekat |language=ar |website=rabettah.net |url-status=live |access-date=18 June 2024 |script-title=ar: عائلة عريقات}} Erekat was one of seven children, with his brothers and sisters living outside of Israel or the Palestinian territories.{{cite web |url=http://www.memritv.org/clip_transcript/en/2074.htm |title=Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erekat: Abu Mazen Rejected the Israeli Proposal in Annapolis Like Arafat Rejected the Camp David 2000 Proposal |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090805130737/http://www.memritv.org/clip_transcript/en/2074.htm |archive-date=5 August 2009 |type=video with transcript |website=MEMRI (Middle East Media Research Institute) |date=27 March 2009 |quote=In my family, we are seven siblings. My six brothers and sisters are in the diaspora. |access-date=5 August 2017}} 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.

In 1972, Erekat moved to San Francisco, California, to attend college.{{Cite magazine|url=https://magazine.sfsu.edu/archive/fall_winter_03/peace|date=Fall–Winter 2003 |title=Saeb Erekat, Forging a Path to Peace |volume=4 |issue=1 |magazine=SF State Magazine|access-date=21 February 2018|archive-date=21 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221161902/https://magazine.sfsu.edu/archive/fall_winter_03/peace|url-status=dead}} He spent two years at City College of San Francisco, a two-year community college. He then transferred to San Francisco State University. There, Erekat received a BA in international relations (in 1977) and an MA in political science (in 1979). He completed his PhD in peace and conflict studies at the University of Bradford in England (in 1983).{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GkbzYoZtaJMC&q=Saeb+Erekat+%22san+francisco%22+1979&pg=PA149|title=Encyclopedia of the Palestinians|first=Philip|last=Mattar|date=19 November 2005|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=9780816069866|via=Google Books|access-date=16 October 2020|archive-date=10 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110203416/https://books.google.com/books?id=GkbzYoZtaJMC&q=Saeb+Erekat+%22san+francisco%22+1979&pg=PA149|url-status=live|page=149}}

Erekat was married to Neameh, and was the father of twin daughters Dalal and Salam; and two sons, Ali and Muhammad.

Career

= Academia =

After gaining his doctorate in England, Erekat moved to the West Bank town of Nablus to lecture in political science at An-Najah National University.

= Al-Quds editor =

He served for 12 years on the editorial board of the locally widely circulated Palestinian newspaper, Al-Quds.

=Politics=

In 1991, Erekat was deputy head of the Palestinian delegation to the Madrid Conference and the subsequent follow-up talks in Washington D.C. between 1992 and 1993. In 1994, he was appointed the Minister for Local Government for the Palestinian National Authority and also the Chairman of the Palestinian negotiation delegation. In 1995, Erekat served as Chief Negotiator for the Palestinians during the Oslo period. He was then elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council in 1996, representing Jericho. As a politician, Erekat was considered to be a Yasser Arafat loyalist, including the Camp David meetings in 2000 and the negotiations at Taba in 2001. Erekat was also, along with Arafat and Faisal Husseini, one of the three high-ranking Palestinians who asked Ariel Sharon not to visit Al-Aqsa in September 2000,{{cite book |first=Menachem |last=Klein |title=The Jerusalem Problem: The Struggle for Permanent Status |publisher=University Press of Florida |date=2003 |page=98}} 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.{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3033601.stm |title=Profile: Saeb Erakat |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040727113703/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3033601.stm |archive-date=27 July 2004 |website=BBC News |date= 4 September 2003 |access-date=18 June 2024 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://info.jpost.com/C004/QandA/qa.erekat.01.html |title=Q & A with Saeb Erekat |website=The Jerusalem Post |date=1 February 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061031215707/http://info.jpost.com/C004/QandA/qa.erekat.01.html |archive-date=31 October 2006 }} 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.{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/928784.html |title=Annapolis joint statement was completed with just minutes to spare |first=Avi |last=Issacharoff |author2=Ravid, Barak |newspaper=Haaretz |date=28 November 2007 |access-date=29 November 2007 |archive-date=29 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071129193325/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/928784.html |url-status=dead}}

He resigned from his post as chief negotiator on 12 February 2011 citing the release of the Palestine Papers.{{cite web |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/2011212135152355248.html |title=Erekat quits over Palestine Papers – Middle East |publisher=Al Jazeera English |date=13 February 2011 |access-date=12 February 2011 |archive-date=13 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110213082921/http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/2011212135152355248.html |url-status=dead}} In July 2013, however, he was still holding the function.{{cite web |publisher=PLO Negotiations Affairs Department |date=28 July 2013 |url=http://www.nad-plo.org/etemplate.php?id=402 |title=Press Release−Dr. Erekat: "We will continue working for the release of all our political prisoners." |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029193017/http://www.nad-plo.org/etemplate.php?id=402 |archive-date=29 October 2013 }} 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.{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/10/world/middleeast/saeb-erekat-palestinian-negotiator-dead.html |title=Saeb Erekat, Longtime Palestinian Chief Negotiator, Dies at 65 |website=The New York Times |date=10 November 2020 |access-date=10 November 2020 |archive-date=10 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110094006/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/10/world/middleeast/saeb-erekat-palestinian-negotiator-dead.html |url-status=live }}

=Legacy=

Erekat was one of the more prominent Palestinian spokespeople in the Western media.{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9805EFDD143EF934A25756C0A9659C8B63 |title=Top Palestinian Negotiator Offers to Quit on Eve of Talks |work=New York Times |date=17 May 2003 |access-date=29 January 2012 |first=James |last=Bennet}} He wrote extensively in the media about Palestinian statehood,{{Cite web|title=Saeb Erekat|url=https://www.haaretz.com/misc/writers/WRITER-1.4968832|access-date=10 November 2020|website=Haaretz|date=10 March 2019 |archive-date=31 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031182356/https://www.haaretz.com/misc/writers/WRITER-1.4968832|url-status=live}} and was a vocal critic of the Trump administration's peace plan.{{Cite news|first=Saeb |last=Erekat|title=The Trump administration, peddling Israeli extremism, is killing the peace process, not me {{!}} Opinion|url=https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/.premium-trump-envoys-peddling-israeli-extremism-are-killing-peace-not-me-1.6159732|access-date=18 June 2024|newspaper=Haaretz|language=en|archive-date=20 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200820062054/https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/.premium-trump-envoys-peddling-israeli-extremism-are-killing-peace-not-me-1.6159732|url-status=live}}

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. In addition, Erekat took his American counterpart, Martin Indyk, on a tour of Hisham's Palace near Jericho.

Health issues and death

On 8 May 2012, Erekat was hospitalized in Ramallah after suffering a heart attack.{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/top-palestinian-peace-negotiator-saeb-erekat-suffers-heart-attack-7722120.html |title=Top Palestinian peace negotiator Saeb Erekat suffers heart attack |website=The Independent |date=8 May 2012 |access-date=18 June 2024 |archive-date=31 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731040850/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/top-palestinian-peace-negotiator-saeb-erekat-suffers-heart-attack-7722120.html |url-status=live }}

On 12 October 2017, he had a lung transplant at Inova Fairfax Hospital in northern Virginia, United States.{{Cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Palestinian-negotiator-Erekat-undergoes-succesful-lung-transplant-surgery-507370|title=Palestinian negotiator Erekat undergoes successful lung transplant surgery |website=Jerusalem Post|date=14 October 2017 |access-date=18 June 2024 |first= Adam |last=Rasgon |archive-date=15 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191115121306/https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Palestinian-negotiator-Erekat-undergoes-succesful-lung-transplant-surgery-507370|url-status=live}}

Erekat, who was suffering from pulmonary fibrosis,{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/02/world/middleeast/saeb-erekat-palestinian-envoy-lung-transplant.html |title=His Health Crisis Made Public, Palestinian Envoy Pushes On |website=The New York Times |date=2 August 2017 |access-date=10 November 2020 |archive-date=31 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031204703/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/02/world/middleeast/saeb-erekat-palestinian-envoy-lung-transplant.html |url-status=live }} tested positive for COVID-19 on 9 October 2020.{{cite news|title=Palestinian negotiator Erekat facing 'difficult' coronavirus symptoms|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-palestinians-erekat-i-idUSKBN26U1C5|publisher=Reuters|date=9 October 2020|access-date=16 October 2020|archive-date=17 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017195617/https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-palestinians-erekat-i-idUSKBN26U1C5|url-status=live}} On 18 October, he was sent to the Israeli Hadassah Ein Karem hospital in Jerusalem in critical condition.{{cite news|title=Senior PLO official Saeb Erekat taken to hospital as Covid-19 condition worsens|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/senior-plo-official-saeb-erekat-taken-hospital-covid-19-condition-n1243843|publisher=NBC News|date=18 October 2020|access-date=18 June 2024|archive-date=18 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018171014/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/senior-plo-official-saeb-erekat-taken-hospital-covid-19-condition-n1243843|url-status=live|first=Lawahez |last=Jabari}} On 21 October, his daughter said on Twitter that he underwent a bronchoscopy to examine the condition of his respiratory system.{{cite news|title=No Change in the Health Condition of Saeb Erekat, Says Family|url=https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/120708|publisher=WAFA News Agency|date=24 October 2020|access-date=24 October 2020}} Erekat died of complications from COVID-19 on 10 November 2020, at the age of 65.{{Cite web|title=Saeb Erekat dies after coronavirus infection|url=https://www.dw.com/en/saeb-erekat-dies-after-coronavirus-infection/a-55551669|website=DW|date=10 November 2020|access-date=10 November 2020|archive-date=10 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110203418/https://www.dw.com/en/saeb-erekat-dies-after-coronavirus-infection/a-55551669|url-status=live}}{{Cite news |last=Black |first=Ian |title=Saeb Erekat obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/10/saeb-erekat-obituary |newspaper=The Guardian |date=10 November 2020 |access-date=11 November 2020}} He was interred in the cemetery in Jericho.{{Cite news |title=Funeral ceremonies honor top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/11/middleeast/saeb-erekat-palestinian-funeral-intl/index.html |last=Carey |first=Andrew |website=CNN |date=11 November 2020 |access-date=12 November 2020}}

Works

[https://web.archive.org/web/20160107004018/http://nad-plo.org/userfiles/file/New%20Publications/Dr_Erekat_Imam_Ali_negotiations.pdf Imam Ali Bin Abi Taleb and Negotiations (2015)]

References

External links

[http://www.ipinst.org/events/panel-discussions/details/212-israeli-palestinian-leaders-debate-middle-east-peace-at-ipi.html Saeb Erekat debates Dan Meridor at the International Peace Institute, June 25, 2010 (video)]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20041211154642/http://www.sfsu.edu/~sfsumag/archive/fall_winter_03/peace.html San Francisco State University magazine interview with Saeb Erekat]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V00BrFCgnOk Interview with Erekat from August 1991]

Category:1955 births

Category:2020 deaths

Category:People from Abu Dis

Category:Members of the 2006 Palestinian Legislative Council

Category:Members of the 1996 Palestinian Legislative Council

Category:Academic staff of An-Najah National University

Category:City College of San Francisco alumni

Category:State ministers of Palestine

Category:Government ministers of the Palestinian National Authority

Category:People from Jericho

Category:San Francisco State University alumni

Category:Alumni of the University of Bradford