If Saib Erekat dies (he's in the hospital with Coronavirus), is that good for the Middle East?

Asked by elbanditoroso (33549

) October 19th, 2020

Saib Erekat is critical condition in an Israeli hospital Hadassah – and in a coma with ventilators and various other equipment. He is general secretary of the PLO and is close to the Palestine Authority leadership, and has been the chief negotiator for talks with Israel for decades.

His (and the Palestinians’) intransigence towards making any deal is well known.

If he doesn’t make it through his COVID hospitalization (and he has a long history of health issues), is that actually good for the Middle East?

Palestinian leadership is aging and hasn’t moved along with the rest of the world.

Although bad for Erekat, would his death be good for the Palestinian cause?

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2 Answers

@elbanditoroso I’m not sure the Palestinians have been the problem in the deal-making department since Rabin was shot by extremists Israelis. Recent Israeli administrations have been committing war crimes left and right without accountability. Meeting them “in the middle” doesn’t make much sense. It’s like the three-fifths compromise or some other grotesque policy concept.

gorillapaws (30807

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I believe I’ve heard Saib Erekat speak in documentaries and I remember being pretty impressed by his intelligence and diplomacy. At this point, I don’t think anything will improve things in the Middle East including Jared Kushner making deals with Arab countries that presumably favor his family’s business interests and the right wing Israelis. Certainly not for the Palestinians whose cause has been abandoned by everyone.

janbb (63218

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