NOVANEWS
PA minister Ziad Abu
The Palestinian minister in charge of the Settlements and Annexation Wall portfolio died Wednesday shortly after being hit and shoved by Israeli soldiers during a protest near Ramallah, witnesses and officials in the Palestinian Authority said.
A Palestinian witness at the protest told Haaretz that he saw an officer from the Border Police hit Minister Ziad Abu Ein with the butt of his gun and kick him. Eyewitness reports that Abu Ein died after being hit by policeman have been disputed, including by Israeli journalists present at the scene.
Channel 10 correspondent Roy Sharon tweeted on Wednesday, “If I’m not blind, then there was no rifle-butt strike, certainly not a significant or intentional one. I was standing next to him.”
According to reports in Israeli media, the army believes Abu Ein suffered a heart attack, but is continuing to investigate.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced three days of mourning and halted all contacts and security coordination with Israel. Abu Ein will be buried Thursday, and an autopsy is being conducted.
Abu Ein, a prominent member of the Fatah Revolutionary Council, was taking part in the protest held as part of the struggle of Palestinian villages Turmusiya and Al Mugheir against the illegal settlement outpost of Adei Ad, which has taken control of their land and prevented them from cultivating it.
To mark International Human Rights Day, Israeli rights group Yesh Din on Wednesday petitioned the High Court of Justice to evacuate the outpost.
The minister fainted and a Palestinian Authority ambulance evacuated him from the scene, in the village of Turmusiya, to the hospital in the nearby Palestinian city of Ramallah. He died en route. Abu Ein suffered from diabetes and high blood pressure, his family said.
The army has launched an investigation into the circumstances if Abu Ein’s death. According the IDF, an altercation erupted between Israeli soldiers and Border Police officers and Palestinians. Israeli forces fired tear gas and stun grenades at the protesters.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat called the death of Abu Ein “another example of Israel’s vicious and arrogant actions committed against the Palestinians.”
“Our brother Ziad was killed while marking the International Human Rights day by planting olive trees to symbolize the hope for both peace and justice,” Erekat said in a statement. “This a clear example of how the culture of impunity granted to Israel by the International community permits it to continue in committing crimes against the Palestinian people.”
He called on the international community to protect the Palestinians from “the crimes of an Israeli government full of settlers and extremists.”
Erekat also said that the Israeli government bears full responsibility for the minister’s death.
“The Palestinian leadership is currently weighing its response,” Erekat said.
About one month ago, a Palestinian man was shot and killed by Israeli army gunfire in the Al-Arroub area between Bethlehem and Hebron.
According to the IDF, troops came under threat during clashes in the area and decided to open fire.
The Palestinians reported the youth, 21-year-old Mohammed Amad Jawabra, was hit by a bullet to the chest, which exited through his back. He was rushed to a Hebron hospital, but died of his wounds a short time later.
In another incident the same day, a Palestinian sustained serious wounds from IDF gunfire in the South Hebron Hills area.
