Saeb Muhammad Salih Erekat was a veteran Palestinian politician and diplomat who served as the Secretary-General of the PLO ( Palestine Liberation Organization) Executive Committee, participated in early negotiations with Israel, and remained chief negotiator until he resigned his position in May 2003. However, he was reappointed to the post in September 2003 after his reconciliations with the party and resigned in protest from the Palestinian government and served as chief of the PLO's Steering... moreSaeb Muhammad Salih Erekat was a veteran Palestinian politician and diplomat who served as the Secretary-General of the PLO ( Palestine Liberation Organization) Executive Committee, participated in early negotiations with Israel, and remained chief negotiator until he resigned his position in May 2003. However, he was reappointed to the post in September 2003 after his reconciliations with the party and resigned in protest from the Palestinian government and served as chief of the PLO's Steering and Monitoring Committee until 12 February 2011. Erekat moved to San Francisco, California, in 1972, to attend college. He spent two years at City College of San Francisco and transferred to San Francisco State University to receive a BA in international relations and an MA in political science. At the University of Bradford in England, he completed his PhD in peace and conflict studies. In 1995, during the Oslo period, Erekat served as Chief Negotiator for the Palestinians and was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council in 1996 to represent Jericho. Erekat was slated to be Minister of Negotiations in the new cabinet but resigned after being excluded from a delegation to meet Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. As a politician, Erekat was considered a Yasser Arafat loyalist, and his resignation was interpreted as part of an internal Palestinian power struggle between Abbas and Arafat. He was later reappointed to his post and participated in the 2007 Annapolis Conference. Saeb Erekat, a top Palestinian negotiator who helped craft some of the most sweeping bids for Arab-Israeli peace but was left dismayed by both Israeli resistance to key concessions on land and Palestinian infighting that eroded his people’s unity, died Nov. 10 at a hospital in Jerusalem due to Covid19 complications.
