Saeb Erekat was born on 28 April 1955 in Jericho or Abu Dis, then under Jordanian occupation. Erekat is one of seven children, with his brothers and sisters living outside of Israel or the Palestinian territories. Erekat received a BA and MA in political science at San Francisco State University in the United States, and completed his Ph.D. in peace and conflict studies at Bradford University in England. He is married and is father of twin daughters and two sons.

 

On 8 May 2012, he was hospitalized in Ramallah after suffering a heart attack. After gaining his doctorate in peace studies at Bradford, Erekat returned to the West Bank town of Nablus to lecture in political science at An-Najah National University and also served for 12 years on the editorial board of the widely circulated Palestinian newspaper, Al-Quds.

Erekat is one of the more prominent Palestinian spokespeople in the Western media. During the Second Intifada, he loudly criticized Israeli actions and together with other sources characterized the IDF's 2002 assault in the Palestinian town of Jenin as a "massacre" and a "war crime", alleging that Israel has killed more than 500 Palestinians in the Jenin refugee camp. After the incident was over and the Palestinian death toll was recorded at between 53 and 56 casualties, Erekat faced criticism from pro-Israeli elements in the US.



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