Passing of Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erakat

Crisis Group’s President and CEO Robert Malley wishes to extend his condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erakat, who passed away on Tuesday, 10 November 2020, and with whom he worked closely for many years. Mr. Erekat was 65.

“Saeb Erekat’s death marks the end of an era – an era in which Israelis and Palestinians sought to negotiate a peaceful solution to their conflict. He embodied that era, with all its hope and all its frustrations. Everything that could be exasperating about Saeb came from the same place as everything that was admirable about him: his single-minded, dogged, obstinate dedication to a cause in which he believed long after it had ceased believing in itself. He was a dear friend and a powerful patriot. May he rest in peace”, Malley said. 

In other reactions from Crisis Group Board members, Nasser al-Kidwa, former Palestinian minister of foreign affairs and Permanent Observer of Palestine to the UN, called Mr. Erekat “the face of Palestinian foreign policy”. Tzipi Livni, a Trustee who served as Israeli foreign minister and spent countless hours in negotiations with Mr. Erekat, also saluted his legacy. “Saeb dedicated his life to the Palestinian cause to which he was fully committed”, she said. “‘I’m not finished with what I was born to do’, he texted me just before he died”, she added. “He will be missed”. 

Contact: media@crisisgroup.org