Palestinian peacemaker Saeb Erekat was laid to rest in his home city of Jericho Wednesday (November 11), after hundreds of mourners waving flags and chanting "God is greatest" held a memorial ceremony. 65-year-old Erekat died on Tuesday after contracting COVID-19. He was secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organization And a confidant and adviser to its former leader Yasser Arafat and current Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Erekat led the Palestinians in peace talks with Israel for many years until negotiations collapsed in 2014. In the final year of his life he was the main public face of Palestinian opposition to U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East plan, which would leave Israel in control of large parts of the occupied West Bank where Palestinians want a state. His memorial took place on the anniversary of Arafat's death in 2004.