Saeb Erekat Transferred to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem

18th October 2020

Saeb Erekat Transferred to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem

Erekat confirmed he contracted coronavirus on Oct.8(GettyImages).

The Claim

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat was transferred to a hospital in Tel Aviv for treatment of a worsening case of COVID-19.

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A claim that Senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat has been transferred to a hospital in Tel Aviv is circulating online.

Saeb Erekat has been one of the most high-profile faces of the Palestinian leadership for decades, especially to international audiences. Social media shared the claim criticizing Erekat for being in an Israeli hospital. Erekat has been a leading Palestinian voice in opposing Israel’s illegal settlement policy in territory it captured and occupied after the 1967 war.

Different pictures showing Saeb Erekat in a hospital are also circulating with the claim.

Misbar’s Analysis

Misbar found the claim and the pictures circulating misleading.

1) Saeb Erakat was not transferred to Tel Aviv.
The PLO’s Negotiations Affairs Department said in a statement that the Senior Palestinian Liberation Organization was hospitalized in Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem.
The official Twitter account of the Palestine Liberation Organization - Negotiations Affairs Department tweeted:
Erekat’s situation seems deteriorating.
According to Reuters, after announcing Erekat being taken to a facility in Tel Aviv, the PLO later said Erekat had been transferred to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem.

2) Pictures in the claim circulating are old.
The pictures circulating were online since 2017. Saeb Erekat has suffered from poor health in recent years, having had a mild heart attack in 2012 and a 2017 lung transplant.

The PLO confirmed that Erekat tested positive for Covid-19 on October 8. Reports at the time said that he was quarantined at home and experiencing mild symptoms. The politician is believed to be vulnerable to COVID-19 complications due to his medical history.