CNN on Thursday said Jerrold Kessel, a longtime network Mideast correspondent who covered the Israel-Palestinian conflict, regional wars and peace efforts, has died. He was 66.CNN Jerusalem bureau chief Kevin Flower said Kessel died Thursday of cancer.Kessel reported for CNN in Jerusalem from 1990-2003. His thick white beard and South African accent were immediately recognizable to viewers as he covered Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, Mideast violence and the 1995 assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.After leaving CNN, Kessel co-produced independent TV programs, wrote a book about football and wrote a sports column for an Israeli newspaper.Kessel's funeral will be Friday in central Israel. He is survived by his wife and a son.
(photo credit: The Jerusalem Post)