Havana, Nov 10 (RHC) Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodríguez, regretted this Tuesday the death of the Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Saeb Erekat, a victim of the Covid-19.

In a statement on Twitter, the head of the island's diplomacy wrote: "We deeply feel the loss of Dr. Saeb Erekat," and extended condolences to family and friends.

The President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), Mahmoud Abbas, stated that the PLO leader's death represents 'a great loss', and declared three days of mourning in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Erekat was 65, and he died in an Israeli hospital, where he was transferred due to his worsening health condition, after more than a month of a battle against the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

A key figure in the peace dialogues with Israel in recent decades, he was an influential advocate for the creation of a Palestinian state and its people in the historic conflict with the Hebrew country.