Leila Shahid, Palestinian diplomat, dies in France aged 76

Tributes pour in for former Palestinian envoy to France and EU, remembered as ‘voice for justice, freedom and peace’.Published On 18 Feb 2026Leila Shahid, the first female diplomat to represent Palestine abroad, has died at age 76, drawing an outpouring of condolences and tributes.Citing Shahid’s family, Le Monde newspaper said the former Palestinian ambassador to France died on Wednesday at her home in the south of the country.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3The Take: She took on Britain’s Palestine Action ban. Then she won.list 2 of 3How Jesse Jackson helped empower US Arabs and lift up the Palestinian causelist 3 of 3Trump’s Board of Peace meets: Who’s in, who’s out, what’s on the agenda?end of list“She died today,” her sister Zeina told the AFP news agency, without providing further details.“Leila Shahid, the iconic ambassador of Palestine, has left us,” Hala Abou-Hassira, the Palestinian ambassador to France, wrote on social media. “A tremendous loss for Palestine and for the world that believes in justice.”Majed Bamya, the deputy Palestinian envoy to the United Nations, also paid tribute to Shahid, describing her as “a voice for justice, freedom and peace”.“She is Palestine personified in the francophone world. She’s the one who convinced me to join the diplomatic corps, or as she put it, to have the honour of representing a cause and a people,” Bamya wrote on X.“I had the honour of serving alongside her, of learning alongside her, of witnessing her magnanimity and compassion, and seeing how she embodies the aspirations and suffering of her people.”Hussam Zumlot, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Kingdom, also hailed Shahid as “a towering figure, a role model and one of the most inspiring diplomats Palestine has ever known”.“Palestine has lost a seasoned and steadfast voice — one who carried her people’s cause with grace, conviction, and unwavering dedication,” he wrote on X.