RAMALLAH, Nov 12 (NNN-WAFA) – Thousands of Palestinians, yesterday paid their last respect, at the funeral of Saeb Erekat, the state’s chief negotiator, who died on Tuesday at 65.
Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, and Arab members of the Israeli parliament, attended the funeral, which took place at the presidential headquarters, with strict measures to prevent the COVID-19 infections.
Erekat’s body, wrapped with the Palestinian flag and Keffiyeh, a traditional Arabian headdress, was transferred to the city of Jericho for burial, after the service.
“This is a painful day for all of us,” Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammed Ishtaye, said. “Erekat was one of the Palestinian symbols who did his best for his just cause.”
Palestinian Foreign Minister, Riyad al-Maliki, described Erekat as an “icon,” noting he “defended the Palestinian issues all the time.”
“When you talk about the Palestinian issue and negotiations with Israel, you come back to him in every little and big thing,” al-Maliki said.
Erekat was the secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) Executive Committee, and chief Palestinian negotiator for talks with Israel and other countries.
He died at the Israeli Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, where he was treated for three weeks, said a statement from the Fatah movement.
The senior Palestinian official contracted COVID-19 last month. As his condition deteriorated, he was transferred from his West Bank home town of Jericho to the Israeli hospital in mid-Oct.
Erekat, born in East Jerusalem in 1955, participated in the Oslo peace agreement, signed by the PLO and Israel in Washington in 1993, and had been the chief Palestinian negotiator since 1996.– NNN-WAFA
