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Palestinian official Saeb Erekat evacuated to Israeli hospital due to COVID-19 complications

The 65-year-old is at high risk, particularly after a lung transplant he underwent in the United States in 2017.

PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat speaks during a press conference in Jericho on Feb. 15, 2017. Photo by Flash90.
PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat speaks during a press conference in Jericho on Feb. 15, 2017. Photo by Flash90.

PLO Executive Committee Secretary-General Saeb Erekat, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Oct. 9, was evacuated to Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center-Ein Kerem on Sunday after his condition deteriorated.

“Following his contraction of COVID-19, and due to the chronic health problems he faces in the respiratory system, Dr. Erekat’s condition now requires medical attention in a hospital,” the PLO’s Negotiations Affairs Department said in a statement, Reuters reported.

Erekat, 65, was hospitalized in Ramallah in May 2016 after suffering a heart attack and underwent a lung transplant in the United States in 2017.

The senior Palestinian diplomat, one of the principal architects of the 1993 Oslo Accords, remained chief Palestinian negotiator until his resignation in 2003.

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