Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat's family has been reportedly told they should come say goodbye on Monday after his condition became critical. Israel Hayom could not independently confirm this.
Erekat, 65, underwent a lung transplant in the United States in 2017, placing him at heightened risk for COVID-19 complication. He was rushed to the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem on Sunday night after his condition took a turn for the worse.
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According to the hospital, the Palestinian official has been sedated and placed on a ventilator.
"Mr. Erekat had a quiet night but this morning his condition deteriorated and is now defined as critical. Due to respiratory distress he was sedated and intubated," the hospital said in a statement. The hospital said it would continue "updating the family members on his condition, as well as the Palestinian Authority, as he is a senior official there."
"As a transplant patient, Mr. Erekat's case is highly complex. Hadassah's top physicians are overseeing his care and are conferring with international medical professionals regarding this type of complex patient care policy."
A top Fatah member and a close confidant of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Erekat has been a high-profile member of the Palestinian leadership for decades, shaping much of the PA's international policy.
In tweets on Friday, Erekat said he was experiencing "difficult symptoms resulting from my lack of immunity as a result of lung transplantation." He thanked well-wishers and said, "Things are under control, thank God."
Several Israeli lawmakers on Sunday condemned the decision to afford Erekat treatment in Israel, saying that Israel should have demanded that Hamas, the terrorist group controlling the Gaza Strip, first return the civilian captives it holds, as well as the remains if two IDF soldiers.
Protests over Erakat's admission to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem came from across the political spectrum, despite the fact that the move was approved by Defense Minister Benny Gantz.
Blue and White MK Michal Cotler-Wunsh said Israel should treat the ill PA official "but only if it received concessions from the Palestinians." She called on the government to implement a policy of "humanitarian aid in return for humanitarian gestures."
Yamina MK Bezalel Smotrich said that the move was tantamount to "providing humanitarian aid to our enemy," adding that doing so without conditioning it on an immediate prisoner swap was ""neither moral nor logical."
Likud MK Ariel Kallner tweeted that Israel's willingness to treat "one who hates Israel" is "not a sign of excessive mortality. It is the opposite."
The Palestinian Authority also tried to downplay Erekat's treatment in Israel after it severed contacts with Israel over its plan to extend sovereignty to large parts of Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley, which were later put on hold in return for signing a normalization deal with the UAE.
According to Israeli media, a Fatah spokesperson tweeted that Erekat was moved to Hadassah Ein Kerem "due to complications from the lung transplant he underwent three years ago, and not due to his coronavirus infection."
He noted that the hospital was chosen "because it is the nearest medical center that has the relevant equipment and medical teams to deal with the specific problem," and stressed that the coronavirus outbreak made it impossible for Erekat to seek treatment abroad.
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