Veteran Palestinian peace negotiator Saeb Erekat has died, weeks after contracting Coronavirus, it has been confirmed.
Aged 65, Dr Erekat was Palestine’s chief negotiator and international spokesman for more than three decades.
He died in an Israeli hospital on Tuesday, weeks after testing positive for COVID-19, his party Fatah confirmed.
Dr Erekat was involved in almost every round of peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine stretching back to the landmark Madrid conference in 1991, when he famously wore a black and white chequered keffiyeh – a symbol of Palestinian nationalism.
A loyal aide to Palestinian leaders Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas, he also served as translator for Mr Arafat and general secretary of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).
He was a constant presence in the western media, arguing fiercely for a two-state solution to the conflict and blaming Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in particular for failing to reach an agreement.
