Leila Shahid, the first woman diplomat representing Palestine abroad, died in southern France aged 76, her family said Wednesday.
“She died today,” her sister Zeina told AFP, without providing further details.
Born in Lebanon in 1949, Shahid was the first woman to represent the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) abroad, beginning her career in Ireland before also becoming representative in the Netherlands.
She served as envoy in France and later as the representative at the European Union.
She was one of the first Palestinians to establish contacts with Israelis who were in favour of peace efforts.
“Leila Shahid, the iconic ambassador of Palestine, has left us. This is a huge loss for Palestine and for the world that believes in justice,” Hala Abou-Hassira, the Palestinian representative in France, said on X.
Shahid’s body was found on Wednesday in the southern village of La Leque, where she lived, a source close to the investigation told AFP.
According to initial findings, the former diplomat, who had reportedly been ill for several years, apparently died by suicide, the source said.
An investigation to determine the cause of death has been launched.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas mourned Shahid and called her “a model of diplomacy committed to the values of freedom, justice, and peace,” according to the official WAFA news agency.
He said she “devoted her life to defending the Palestinian cause and was a genuine voice for Palestinian diplomacy, carrying out the duties entrusted to her with competence and distinction”, the agency reported.
Karim Amellal, a French-Algerian author and scholar, said Shahid was a “strong and dignified voice for Palestine in France, an indefatigable advocate for peace.”
She “opened the doors to an era of hope, that of the Oslo Accords,” he said on X, referring to the late Palestinian leader. “A time that feels so distant today. An era, alas, that has passed.”
France formally recognised a Palestinian state in September last year.
AFP
