Palestinian negotiator Erekat dies after contracting Covid-19

JERUSALEM: Palestinian veteran negotiator Saeb Erekat died on Tuesday of coronavirus complications at age 65, in a death mourned as a “great loss” for his people and sparking tributes from around the world.

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 Organisation’s secretary general.