Coronavirus: Palestinian diplomat Saeb Erekat laid to rest

Senior Palestinian negotiator and top diplomat Saeb Erekat was laid to rest on Wednesday after a memorial ceremony in the West Bank city of Ramallah – the seat of the Palestinian government.

Erekat was announced dead on Tuesday, a month after announcing that he had contracted the coronavirus.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas laid a wreath at Erekat’s funeral ceremony and declared three days of national mourning for the veteran Fatah loyalist.

A lung transplant three years ago left Erekat’s immune system compromised, and his condition deteriorated after he contracted the disease. He was taken to an Israeli hospital in Jerusalem three weeks ago and was pronounced dead on Tuesday after multiple organ failure.

A funeral convoy drove from Ramallah to his hometown of Jericho where his body was carried in a procession to a town mosque for prayers, as is typical in Muslim funerals. A military ceremony led the procession to a nearby cemetery.

The funeral took place as Palestinians marked the death of former Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, who died in Paris on 11 November 2004 and was flown back to Ramallah for burial.

READ: Saeb Erekat’s death is a loss to the Palestinian people