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Erekat has authored eight books and numerous research papers on foreign policy, oil and conflict resolution. Erekat has authored eight books and numerous research papers on foreign policy, oil and conflict resolution.


==Controversies==
=== Media Profile ===
{{Cleanup-section| date=March 2008 }}


===Battle of Jenin controversy===
Erekat is one of the more prominent Palestinian spokespeople to appear in the Western media. <ref>http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9805EFDD143EF934A25756C0A9659C8B63</ref> He was criticised by some Israeli commentators for giving interviews at the time in which he allegedly inflated Palestinian casualty figures during the ]. In an interview with ] ahead of the Annapolis summit in 2007, he publicly rejected demands that Palestinians should recognise Israel's status as a Jewish state. <ref>http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/923076.html</ref>
{{Main|Battle of Jenin}}

Erekat, the most prominent representative on Western television stations for the Palestinians,<ref name="JpostPen">, ], Dec. 26, 2002 (hosted on take-a-pen.org) ()</ref> came under criticism after Palestinian spokesmen, himself included, characterized Israel's operations in Jenin as a massacre since its early stages.<ref name=Rice><br>BLITZER: Mr. Erakat, you probably know that you've come under some widespread criticism here in the United States for initially charging that the Israelis were engaged in a massacre in Jenin. Perhaps 500 Palestinians murdered in that massacre, you suggested. But now all of the evidence suggests that perhaps 53 or 56 Palestinians died in that fighting in Jenin.</ref><ref name="JpostPen"/><ref></ref><ref name=CAMERA> by Yehuda Kraut (])<br>* April 7, 'Israel warns Lebanon, Syria they risk a new border war' by Betsy Pisik, Washington Times ()</ref><ref></ref><ref></ref> Erekat repeated unsubstantiated<ref>, ], June 24, 2003</ref><ref name="evidence"/> claims that no less than 500 Palestinians were "massacred" in the ''"no longer in existence"'' ] refugee camp.<ref name="500+"><br>ERAKAT: I have a suggestion to make... let them go to Jenin... There is no longer a refugee camp there... the camp was totally destroyed. They conducted terror. They're not out there to fight terror. They are conducting terror... an international commission of inquiry to get the results (ph) and to decide how many people were massacred. And we say the number will not be less than 500.</ref><ref name="JpostPen">, ], Dec. 26, 2002 (hosted on take-a-pen.org) ()</ref><ref name=Rice/><ref></ref> He also stated that Israel is trying to cover up the "massacre"<ref name="evidence"><br>Palestinians have charged that the Israeli army was trying to cover up a massacre, something the military in Israel strongly denies.<br>ERAKAT: I don't have evidence... They're trying to cover up"</ref> and that witnesses are telling him that, ''"they dug graveyards and have buried a lot of people"''.<ref></ref> These claims have been refuted and the final death toll for the Jenin battle was set at approx. 52-56 Palestinians while Israel suffered 23 casualties.<ref name="Qadoura56"> </ref><ref name=UN> () - Pg 11-12, Para 52-53, 56-57</ref><ref name=Rice></ref><ref name="NOMBBC">, ]</ref><ref>, ] {{languageicon|he|Hebrew}}</ref><ref name="Haarerz">, ] {{languageicon|he|Hebrew}}</ref> However, Erekat followed earlier statements that he ''"stand by the term "massacres""''<ref></ref> and rejected the UN report.<ref name="NOMBBC"/><ref name="Haarerz"/><ref name="teleUN">, ]</ref> Israeli voices and conservative commentators leveled accusations that the international press preferred the Jenin "massacre hoax" to the facts causing harm to Israel's image, and accused the Palestinians and Erekat of lying.<ref>, ]</ref><ref name="JpostPen"/><ref>, ], May 8, 2002</ref><ref>, ], April 16, 2002</ref><ref>, ], May 13, 2002</ref><ref name=CAMERA><ref name="CharlesKrauthammer"> by ], ], May 3, 2002</ref><ref>, ], April 23, 2002]</ref>

===Jewish state controversy===
Erekat, part of the Israeli-Fatah negotiations team has been noted by the Israeli media and criticized for stating in November 2007 that the Palestinians will not accept Israel as 'Jewish state' and for his radio statement that, ''"no state in the world connects its national identity to a religious identity."'' ], the Israeli Prime minister was noted replying that, ''"We won't hold negotiations on our existence as a Jewish state, this is a launching point for all negotiations,"'' while others noted the fallacy in Erekat's latter claim regarding religious identities.<ref>, (])</ref><ref></ref><ref>, ]</ref><ref>, ]</ref>


==See also== ==See also==

Revision as of 09:36, 10 April 2008

File:Saeb-erekat.jpg
Saeb Erekat

Saeb Erakat (also: 'Saib', 'Erakat') (Full name: Sa'ib Muhammad Salih 'Urayqat. Template:Lang-ar), (born April 28 1955 in Jerusalem) is the chief of the PLO Steering and Monitoring Committee. He negotiated the Oslo Accords with Israel and remained chief negotiator from 1995 until May 2003, when he resigned in protest from the Palestinian government. He quickly reconciled with his party and was reappointed to the post in September 2003. Saeb Erekat is currently part of the Israel-Fatah negotiations team working to establish a Palestinian state.

Personal life

Saeb Erekat was born on April 28 1955 in East Jerusalem, then under Jordanian occupation. He is married with twin daughters and two sons.

Education and professional life

Erekat received a BA and MA in Political Science at San Francisco State University (United States) and completed his Ph.D. in Peace and conflict studies at Bradford University (England).

He returned to lecture in Political Science at the An-Najah National University in the West Bank town of Nablus, and also served for 12 years on the editorial board of Al-Quds, the most circulated Palestinian newspaper.

He also served as secretary general of the Arab Studies Society.

Chief Negotiator

Erekat has been at the center of negotiations with Israel for over a decade and participated in numerous peace conferences. He was deputy head of the Palestinian delegation to the Madrid Conference in 1991 and the 1992-1993 follow-up talks in Washington. In 1994, Erekat was appointed the Chairman of the Palestinian negotiation delegation and in 1995, he served as Chief Negotiator for the Palestinians during the Oslo period, including the Camp David meetings in 2000 and the negotiations at Taba in 2001. He also acted as Yasser Arafat's English interpreter. When Mahmoud Abbas was nominated to serve as Prime Minister of the Palestinian Legislative Council in early 2003, Erekat was slated to be Minister of Negotiations in the new cabinet, but he soon resigned after he was excluded from a delegation to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. This was interpreted as part of an internal Palestinian power struggle between Abbas and Arafat. Erekat was later reappointed to his post and participated in the 2007 Annapolis Conference, where he took over from Ahmed Qureia during an impasse and helped hammer out a joint declaration.

Political Career

As a politician, Erekat has been supportive of Yasser Arafat. Since 1994, Erekat served as a Minister of Local Government for the Palestinian Authority (PA). He was also elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council in 1996, representing Jericho.

Publications

Erekat has authored eight books and numerous research papers on foreign policy, oil and conflict resolution.

Controversies

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Battle of Jenin controversy

Main article: Battle of Jenin

Erekat, the most prominent representative on Western television stations for the Palestinians, came under criticism after Palestinian spokesmen, himself included, characterized Israel's operations in Jenin as a massacre since its early stages. Erekat repeated unsubstantiated claims that no less than 500 Palestinians were "massacred" in the "no longer in existence" Jenin refugee camp. He also stated that Israel is trying to cover up the "massacre" and that witnesses are telling him that, "they dug graveyards and have buried a lot of people". These claims have been refuted and the final death toll for the Jenin battle was set at approx. 52-56 Palestinians while Israel suffered 23 casualties. However, Erekat followed earlier statements that he "stand by the term "massacres"" and rejected the UN report. Israeli voices and conservative commentators leveled accusations that the international press preferred the Jenin "massacre hoax" to the facts causing harm to Israel's image, and accused the Palestinians and Erekat of lying.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

Jewish state controversy

Erekat, part of the Israeli-Fatah negotiations team has been noted by the Israeli media and criticized for stating in November 2007 that the Palestinians will not accept Israel as 'Jewish state' and for his radio statement that, "no state in the world connects its national identity to a religious identity." Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime minister was noted replying that, "We won't hold negotiations on our existence as a Jewish state, this is a launching point for all negotiations," while others noted the fallacy in Erekat's latter claim regarding religious identities.

See also

References

  1. ^ 'Politics in Palestine', Palestinian National Authority: The PA Ministerial Cabinet List, Emergency Cabinet, October 2003 - November 2003, Jerusalem Media and Communication Centre.
  2. ^ 'Saeb Erekat', GlobalSecurity.org
  3. ^ 'Profile: Saeb Erakat', BBC News, September 4, 2003.
  4. 'Q & A with Saeb Erekat', The Jerusalem Post, February 1, 2005.
  5. 'Annapolis joint statement was completed with just minutes to spare' by Avi Issacharoff and Barak Ravid, Haaretz, November 28, 2007.
  6. ^ "Liar, liar" by Bret Stephens, Jerusalem Post, Dec. 26, 2002 (hosted on take-a-pen.org) (source)
  7. ^ CNN Transcripts: Interview with Condoleezza Rice; Last Chance for Arafat?; How to Best Protect the Cockpit?
    BLITZER: Mr. Erakat, you probably know that you've come under some widespread criticism here in the United States for initially charging that the Israelis were engaged in a massacre in Jenin. Perhaps 500 Palestinians murdered in that massacre, you suggested. But now all of the evidence suggests that perhaps 53 or 56 Palestinians died in that fighting in Jenin. Cite error: The named reference "Rice" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  8. JCPA Issue Brief: What Really Happened in Jenin?
  9. 'BACKGROUNDER: A Study in Palestinian Duplicity and Media Indifference' by Yehuda Kraut (CAMERA)
    * April 7, 'Israel warns Lebanon, Syria they risk a new border war' by Betsy Pisik, Washington Times (source)
  10. CNN Transcripts: Israel Retaliates to Suicide Bombing by Invading Arafat Compound
  11. CNN Transcripts: Massive Gunfire Outside Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity
  12. 'Jenin rises from the dirt' by Ken Lee, BBC, June 24, 2003
  13. ^ CNN Transcripts: Jerusalem: Could Mideast Conflict Widen?; Powell Meets With Sharon, Arafat; Are U.S. Interests Affected by the Crisis?
    Palestinians have charged that the Israeli army was trying to cover up a massacre, something the military in Israel strongly denies.
    ERAKAT: I don't have evidence... They're trying to cover up"
  14. CNN Transcripts: Secretary Powell Leaves Middle East Empty Handed; Palestinians Remain Under Israeli Siege
    ERAKAT: I have a suggestion to make... let them go to Jenin... There is no longer a refugee camp there... the camp was totally destroyed. They conducted terror. They're not out there to fight terror. They are conducting terror... an international commission of inquiry to get the results (ph) and to decide how many people were massacred. And we say the number will not be less than 500.
  15. CNN Transcripts: Colin Powell's Challenge
  16. CNN Transcripts: 'Interview With Ariel Sharon'
  17. 'Jenin "massacre" reduced to death toll of 56' by Paul Martin, Washington Times (host site) (mirror host)
  18. UN Report on Jenin (Source PDF) - Pg 11-12, Para 52-53, 56-57
  19. ^ 'UN says no massacre in Jenin', BBC
  20. UN states: There wasn't a massacre in the Jenin refugee camp, Yedioth Ahronoth Template:Languageicon
  21. ^ U.N. General Council will discuss the Jenin report, Haaretz Template:Languageicon
  22. CNN Transcripts: 'Interview With Ariel Sharon'
  23. ' UN clears Israel of massacre at Jenin' by Alan Philps, Telegraph
  24. 'Jenin massacre syndrome' by Sever Plocker, Yedioth Ahronoth
  25. 'The Big Jenin Lie' by Richard Starr, The Daily Standard, May 8, 2002
  26. 'Jenin: The Big Lie' by Ariel Cohen, National Review, April 16, 2002
  27. 'Jeningrad: What the British media said.' by Tom Gross, National Review, May 13, 2002
  28. 'The Real Massacre - Israel's Image', Honest Reporting, April 23, 2002]
  29. Erekat: Palestinians will not accept Israel as 'Jewish state' by Barak Ravid, (Haaretz)
  30. 'Israel and Palestinians: The crucial issue' by Ami Isseroff
  31. 'Palestinians have no right to decide Israel's identity' by Rabbi Aaron Bergman, The Detroit News
  32. 'Defining a Nation', The Forward

External links

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