Saeb Erekat
 Saeb Erekat    (politician, diplomat) | |
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| Born | 28 April 1955 |
| Died | 10 November 2020 (Age 65) |
| Alma mater | San Francisco State University, University of Bradford |
Palestinian politician and diplomat who was the Secretary General of the Executive Committee of the PLO | |
Saeb Muhammad Salih Erekat (28 April 1955 – 10 November 2020) was a Palestinian politician and diplomat who was the Secretary General of the Executive Committee of the PLO (2015-2020). He was 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.
Saeb Erekat was reappointed to his post in September 2003 and participated in the 2007 Annapolis Conference, where he took over from Ahmed Qurei during an impasse and helped hammer out a joint declaration.
Contents
Palestine Papers
Saeb Erekat resigned as Chief Negotiator on 12 February 2011 citing the release of the Palestine Papers.
Distraction from the real issue
On 26 January 2011, Saeb Erekat wrote an article entitled "The Palestine papers are a distraction from the real issue" in The Guardian (We made no backroom deals, and negotiated in good faith. But Palestine had no partner for peace):
The release of Palestinian documents by Al Jazeera reveals nothing new about the nature and content of negotiations. Rather, it constitutes an unambiguous slander campaign aimed at the Palestinian leadership at a time when we seek to take new measures in defence of the Palestinian cause.
We have been accused of making great concessions to Israel behind the back of the Palestinian people. Such allegations are groundless. For the past 19 years the Palestinian leadership has engaged in hard-fought but meaningful negotiations with Israel with the aim of achieving a permanent agreement based on two states on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as our capital and a just solution to the refugee issue based on international law and the United Nations Resolution 194. These red lines have guided and shaped our discussions with Israel and at present with our American interlocutors.
In the course of these negotiations, we have explored a wide range of ideas with the purpose of reaching an understanding of mutual interests leading to an agreed-upon settlement. Yet all of our positions have been grounded in the principles of international law with respect to the rights of the Palestinian people, without exception.
A careful and complete reading of the documents at hand – which goes beyond the sensationalised headlines and spin – will reveal this to be true. First and foremost, it is essential to understand that no agreement has ever been reached between the parties on any of the permanent status issues. This reality, by its very definition, renders it impossible that either party has conceded anything.
Of equal and closely related importance is the most fundamental premise that has been the basis of our negotiations with Israel: namely, that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. Accordingly, it is impossible to look at any negotiation map, proffered land swap, or any other issue in isolation without understanding the overall offer then on the table. Any such attempt places an issue squarely out of context. It is at best a misguided exercise, and one that is assured of misrepresenting the facts in any given portion of what have been lengthy, detailed and highly-charged negotiations.
Furthermore, we have always made clear that any solution agreed upon at the negotiating table must hold up to a Palestinian national referendum. In other words, no agreement will be concluded without the approval of the Palestinian people.
Therefore, there are no secrets or back door dealings. We shoulder a huge responsibility with far-reaching implications, and we have spent years trying to reach agreed terms that honour our rights and dignity and that, therefore, will meet the approval of our people.
What should be taken from these documents is that Palestinian negotiators have consistently come to the table in complete seriousness and in good faith, and that we have only been met by rejection at the other end. Conventional wisdom, supported by the press, has allowed Israel to promote the idea that it has always lacked a partner at our end. If it has not been before, it should now be painfully obvious that the very opposite is true. It is Palestinians who have lacked, and who continue to lack, a serious partner for peace.
Ultimately the world must not be distracted from what has been the only constant throughout this process. Israel continues to occupy the land of Palestine, to colonise it relentlessly, and to deny the most fundamental rights of the Palestinian people, in particular our refugees. These are the issues that demand attention and that must be addressed without further delay.[1]
Peace plan
By July 2013, however, Saeb Erekat was still holding the function of Chief Negotiator and in 2015 became Secretary-General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation. Erekat 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.
Death
On 10 November 2020, The New York Times announced that Saeb Erekat, the senior Palestinian official and negotiator who passionately advocated the establishment of an independent Palestinian state as a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, had died at a hospital in Jerusalem. He was 65.
The hospital, Hadassah Medical Center, attributed the death to Covid-19. Officials there said he was admitted in critical condition with the disease on October 18 and required immediate ventilation and resuscitation; he had previously had a lung transplant. They said he experienced multiple organ failure.[2]
Events Participated in
| Event | Start | End | Location(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Munich Security Conference/2014 | 31 January 2014 | 2 February 2014 | Germany Munich Bavaria | The 50th Munich Security Conference |
| Munich Security Conference/2015 | 6 February 2015 | 8 February 2015 | Germany Munich Bavaria | "400 high-ranking decision-makers in international politics, including some 20 heads of state and government as well as more than 60 foreign and defence ministers, met in Munich to discuss current crises and conflicts." |
| WEF/Annual Meeting/2007 | 24 January 2007 | 28 January 2007 | Switzerland | Only the 449 public figures listed of ~2200 participants |
| WEF/Annual Meeting/2008 | 23 January 2008 | 27 January 2008 | World Economic Forum Switzerland | At the 2008 summit, Klaus Schwab called for a coordinated approach, where different 'stakeholders' collaborate across geographical, industrial, political and cultural boundaries." |
