Saeb Erekat, a longtime negotiator for Palestinians, has died at 65 after contracting coronavirus

Mr Erekat is hailed as being a veteran negotiator and prominent spokesman for Palestinians for several decades.

Palestine Liberation Organisation's Secretary General Saeb Erekat speaks to journalists during a press conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah in 2018. Source: AFP

Saeb Erekat, a prominent Palestinian spokesman for decades, died on Tuesday after contracting COVID-19, his family has said.

Mr Erekat, 65, was one of the most passionate and experienced advocates of the Palestinian cause.

Although well known in foreign ministries across the world and regularly featured in the media, he was on the second tier of Palestinian politics and diplomacy.

Fluent in English as well as his native Arabic, he was a high-profile spokesman for Palestinian leaders such as Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas, while never a serious candidate to succeed them.

Saeb Erekat, secretary of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), speaks during a press conference in Ramallah in April last year. Source: AFP

Mr Erekat, the secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), confirmed on 8 October that he had contracted COVID-19. Three years earlier, he had undergone a lung transplant in the United States that left his immune system compromised.

He died after being hospitalised for weeks in Jerusalem's Hadassah Medical Centre.

"With hearts full of sorrow and pain, and with patience, Erekat’s clan everywhere mourns to the Palestinian Arab people and to the Arab and Muslim nation Saeb Erekat,” his extended family clan posted on Facebook.