A Palestinian minister has died following a confrontation with Israeli troops at a West Bank protest. Palestinian medics say he died from inhaling
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A Palestinian minister has died following a confrontation with Israeli troops at a West Bank protest.
Palestinian medics say he died from inhaling tear gas. A photographer from the Reuters news agency said soldiers had shoved the minister.
In images filmed at the demo shortly before Ziad Abu Ein died the minister said:
“Nobody threw stones, nobody threw punches. It’s the Israeli terrorists, the occupiers that use force and hit us.”
Abu Ein, a minister without portfolio, had been with 100 other activists at a protest against land confiscation
They were confronted by Israeli troops who fired tear gas and scuffles erupted. The minister was rushed to hospital by ambulance but died en route to Ramallah.
With conflicting reports of the incident the Palestinian Prime Minister, Rami Hamdallah said : Israeli crimes are being committed daily against our people- children, the elderly and the national leaders such as the martyr Ziad Abu Ein. From here I demand all International institutions dealing with human rights and the rights of the Palestinian people, to initiate an international investigation committee to investigate this issue as soon as possible.”
The Israeli military said they would begin an investigation into the incident.
The President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, called the minister’s death “a barbaric act” and declared three days of national mourning.