This article is from the source 'washpo' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/senior-palestinian-official-dies-after-clash-with-israeli-forces-in-west-bank/2014/12/10/451f4616-8060-11e4-9f38-95a187e4c1f7_story.html?wprss=rss_world

The article has changed 12 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Senior Palestinian official dies after clash with Israeli forces in West Bank Senior Palestinian official dies after clash with Israeli forces in West Bank
(about 2 hours later)
JERUSALEM — A senior Palestinian cabinet member died Wednesday after a confrontation with Israeli forces at a protest march in the West Bank over land seizures, officials and witnesses said, touching off outrage from Palestinian officials. RAMALLAH, West Bank — A Palestinian cabinet member in charge of opposing Jewish settlements died Wednesday after a confrontation with Israeli forces at a protest march in the West Bank, officials said, touching off outrage from the Palestinian leadership and an appeal by a U.N. envoy for a full Israeli probe.
The death of Ziad Abu Ein, a longtime member of the Palestinian Authority’s administration, is certain to sharpen tensions after a recent wave of terrorist attacks and clashes set in motion by showdowns over a contested holy site in Jerusalem. The death of Ziad Abu Ein sharpened tensions after a recent wave of terrorist attacks and clashes set in motion by showdowns over a contested holy site in Jerusalem.
The full details of the incident were not immediately clear. The full details of the incident were not immediately clear. Some witnesses said Abu Ein was hit by a tear gas canister. Other reports said he was struck by an Israeli soldier’s rifle butt.
Some witnesses said Abu Ein, who headed the Palestinian agency opposing Jewish settlements in the West Bank, was hit by a tear gas canister. Other reports said he was struck by an Israeli solider’s rifle butt. Video clips posted by Sky News Arabia showed an Israeli soldier apparently holding the 55-year-old Abu Ein near his neck. The clip then shows Abu Ein on the ground and clutching his chest behind a row of Israeli soldiers facing off against protesters near the West Bank village of Turmus Aya, where the march was held to protest land seizures.
Video clips showed the 55-year-old Abu Ein on the ground and clutching his chest near a row of Israeli soldiers facing off against protesters. He died after being taken for medical treatment.
He died after being taken for medical care from the clash site near the West Bank village of Turmus Aya, Mahmoud Aloul, a member of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement, told the Associated Press. A reporter for Israel’s Channel 10, Roy Sharon, posted a Twitter message saying he did not see Abu Ein struck by the butt of a rifle and, if the gun did hit him, it was not on purpose or significant. Sharon said he was standing near Abu Ein, who was appointed last year to lead opposition to Israeli settlements and the barrier separating Israel from the West Bank.
The Israeli military said it was investigating. The Israeli military said it was investigating. An Israeli ministry statement said its “forces had attempted to halt the progress of the rioters” toward a nearby Israeli outpost by “using riot dispersal means.”
Reut Mor, a spokesperson for Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights organization that was involved in organizing the march, said that roughly 100 villagers had been making their way with flags and olive trees. The march was meant to coincide with the International Human Rights Day. Reut Mor, a spokesperson for Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights organization that was involved in organizing the march, said that roughly 100 villagers had been making their way with flags and olive trees. The march coincided with the International Human Rights Day.
“It was a quiet march, there was no violence, no stones, people were holding flags and olive trees when suddenly the protesters met almost as many soldiers. They stood in front of us and started shooting tear gas and stun grenades even though there were no violence from our side,” she said. Palestinians frequently stage protests against Israeli settlements and unauthorized Jewish outposts in the West Bank, whose construction has continued despite objections from Washington and Israel’s allies in Europe.
“It was a quiet march, there was no violence, no stones, people were holding flags and olive trees when suddenly the protesters met almost as many soldiers. They stood in front of us and started shooting tear gas and stun grenades even though there were no violence from our side,” said Mor.
According to witnesses, one soldier took his gun and hit Abu Ein in the chest, causing him to collapse. He was conscious was he left for the hospital, said Mor.According to witnesses, one soldier took his gun and hit Abu Ein in the chest, causing him to collapse. He was conscious was he left for the hospital, said Mor.
The AP quoted other witnesses saying Abu Ein was hit by a tear gas canister fired by Israeli forces.The AP quoted other witnesses saying Abu Ein was hit by a tear gas canister fired by Israeli forces.
Abbas called it a “barbaric act” and promised to take “the proper actions after the investigation reveals how he was killed,” the Palestinian al-Quds newspaper said. He called for a three-day mourning period. Palestinian leaders warned of major blows to already fraying relations with Israel.
Israeli media reported that Hamas, the militant Palestinian group that rules the Gaza Strip, called on the Palestinian Authority to cancel all security coordination with Israeli over the incident. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called it a “barbaric act” and called for a three-day mourning period. Hanna Ashrawi, a senior Palestinian official, demanded an “independent, neutral” investigation.
“The Israel government bears full responsibility for the killing of Minister Abu Ein and the systematic crimes committed against the Palestinian people,” said Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian peace negotiator. “This new assassination will have severe consequences.” “Ziad was guilty of nothing more insidious than planting olive trees on Palestinian land that Israel was attempting to steal,” she said in a statement.
Palestinian officials said an autopsy would be performed to determine the cause of death. Abu Ein also suffered from diabetes and high blood pressure, his family said. Israeli media reported that Hamas, the militant Palestinian group that rules the Gaza Strip, called on the Abbas’s Fatah movement and the Palestinian Authority to cancel all security coordination with Israel.
Tensions have been running high in the region since last summer’s 50-day war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and over continuing disputes stemming from access to an area known as the Temple Mount to Jews and the Noble Sanctuary to Muslim — an area holy to both faiths. “The Israel government bears full responsibility for the killing of minister Abu Ein and the systematic crimes committed against the Palestinian people,” said Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian peace negotiator. “This new assassination will have severe consequences.”
Palestinian officials said an autopsy would be performed to determine the cause of death. Abu Ein, who formerly served as the Palestinian Authority’s deputy minister of prisoners’ affairs, also suffered from diabetes and high blood pressure, his family said.
The U.N. special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Robert Serry, said he was deeply saddened by the minister’s death and urged Israeli authorities to conduct a “prompt, thorough and transparent investigation into the circumstance of his death.”
Israeli reports said Abu Ein was a member of Fatah’s Revolutionary Council, which is also known as the Abu Nidal Organization, which carried out a string of terror attacks in the 1980s.
It remains on the State Department’s official list of foreign terrorist organizations, although it is thought to be largely inactive at present.
Abu Ein himself was handed a life sentence in Israel in 1982 after being extradited from the United States over the murder of two Israelis in Tiberias in 1979. He was released in a prisoner swap in 1985.
In recent months, tensions have been running high in the region since last summer’s 50-day war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and over continuing disputes stemming from access to an area known as the Temple Mount to Jews and the Noble Sanctuary to Muslim — an area holy to both faiths.
A series of clashes and bloodshed followed, including a Palestinian attack last month that left five people dead at a Jerusalem synagogue, including three American-born Israelis.A series of clashes and bloodshed followed, including a Palestinian attack last month that left five people dead at a Jerusalem synagogue, including three American-born Israelis.
Murphy reported from Washington. Eglash reported from Jerusalem and Murphy from Washington.