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Photos: Palestinian Minister Ziad Abu Ein at a protest in the West Bank on December 10, 2014. Photo by Chaim Levinson

Other photos published by Ma'an News

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RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The head of the Palestinian Authority committee against the separation wall and settlements died Wednesday after Israeli soldiers assaulted him in a village near Ramallah, committee sources said.

Ziad Abu Ein, 55, died after an Israeli soldier beat him on the chest with his helmet in the village of Turmsayya in the Ramallah district, the director of the committee's information center, Jamil al-Barghouthi, told Ma'an.

Abu Ein also suffered severe tear gas inhalation as Israeli soldiers fired canisters in the area.

A Palestinian security source told AFP that Israeli forces beat Abu Ein with the butts of their rifles and their helmets during a protest march.

He lost consciousness and was taken to Ramallah Public Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

Medical sources told Ma'an that Abu Ein lost consciousness and that his heart stopped after being beaten by Israeli soldiers and inhaling tear gas.

The Israeli army said in a statement that "approximately 200 rioters gathered in Turmus Ayya, near Ramallah. Forces halted the progress of the rioters into the civilian (Israeli settler outpost) community of Adei-Ad using riot dispersal means."

It said it was "reviewing the circumstances of the participation of Ziad Abu Ein, and his later death."

"The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Maj. Gen. Yoav (Poli) Mordechai, and his Palestinian counterpart, Hussein Al-Sheikh, have agreed that an Israeli pathologist will join a delegation of pathologists from Jordan, for a joint examination of the circumstances of Ziad Abu Ein's death.

"Additionally, a proposal has been made to the Palestinians to establish a joint investigation team to review the incident."


PA official dies after being assaulted by Israeli soldier

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The head of the Palestinian Authority committee against the separation wall and settlements died Wednesday after Israeli soldiers assaulted him in a village near Ramallah, committee sources said.

Ziad Abu Ein, 55, died after an Israeli soldier beat him on the chest with his helmet in the village of Turmsayya in the Ramallah district, the director of the committee's information center, Jamil al-Barghouthi, told Ma'an.

Abu Ein also suffered severe tear gas inhalation as Israeli soldiers fired canisters in the area.

A Palestinian security source told AFP that Israeli forces beat Abu Ein with the butts of their rifles and their helmets during a protest march.

He lost consciousness and was taken to Ramallah Public Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

Medical sources told Ma'an that Abu Ein lost consciousness and that his heart stopped after being beaten by Israeli soldiers and inhaling tear gas.

The Israeli army said in a statement that "approximately 200 rioters gathered in Turmus Ayya, near Ramallah. Forces halted the progress of the rioters into the civilian (Israeli settler outpost) community of Adei-Ad using riot dispersal means."

It said it was "reviewing the circumstances of the participation of Ziad Abu Ein, and his later death."

"The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Maj. Gen. Yoav (Poli) Mordechai, and his Palestinian counterpart, Hussein Al-Sheikh, have agreed that an Israeli pathologist will join a delegation of pathologists from Jordan, for a joint examination of the circumstances of Ziad Abu Ein's death.

"Additionally, a proposal has been made to the Palestinians to establish a joint investigation team to review the incident."


A Ma'an reporter said Abu Ein was taking part in a tree-planting project in an area of the village threatened with confiscation.

Dozens of other activists were also taking part in the project.

President Mahmoud Abbas said in a statement that the attack on Abu Ein was a "barbaric action that cannot be ignored or accepted," adding that actions would be taken to hold Israel accountable.

Abbas condemned all Israeli assaults on Palestinians.

Ziad Abu Ein was a member of the Fatah movement's Revolutionary Council, and served as undersecretary to the minister of prisoner affairs before Abbas appointed him head of the committee against the separation wall and settlements.

AFP contributed to this report.
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EU, UN call for 'independent' probe into PA minister's death

Defense Minister Ya'alon says Israel 'regrets' death of Ziad Abu Ein at West Bank protest; IDF preparing for clashes across West Bank.

By Barak Ravid, Gili Cohen , Amira Hass and Chaim Levinson for Haaretz
Dec. 10, 2014 | 7:36 PM

The EU called on Wednesday for "an immediate, independent investigation" into the death of Palestinian Authority minister Ziad Abu Ein earlier in the day at a West Bank protest. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement that "reports of excessive use of force by Israeli Security Forces are extremely worrying."

The United Nations Special Coordinator in the Middle East, Robert Serry, also urged Israel to investigate the incident: "I urge the Israeli authorities to conduct a prompt, thorough and transparent investigation into the circumstance of his death and appeal for calm."

Meanwhile, the IDF was preparing for clashes across the West Bank following the death of the minister. Clashes were reported near the Qalandiya checkpoint and in the West Bank refugee camp Jilazun, where a 14-year-old boy sustained serious wounds after being shot in the head with a rubber-coated bullet.

Witnesses and officials said Abu Ein, 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. These reports have been disputed, including by Israeli journalists present at the scene, and according to some reports in Israeli media, the army believes Abu Ein suffered a heart attack.
The Palestinian Authority has agreed to allow an Israeli pathologist from the Abu Kabir Forensics Institute take part in the autopsy.

The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, agreed on the participation of the Israeli pathologist with his Palestinian counterpart Huseein al-Sheikh. According to the IDF, Mordechai also offered al-Sheikh to set up a joint team to investigate the incident.

Israel's Defense Minister Moshe said in an official statement that "The incident in which Ziad Abu Ein dies is being investigated by the IDF. We regret his death. We have offered the Palestinian Authority a joint investigation, and there will be a joint autopsy of Abu Ein's body." The statement added that the stability of the security situation "is important for both sides, and we will continue to coordinate with the Palestinian Authority."

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.

The IDF said the clash was over a disagreement about the place where to plant trees, as had been planned in advance. A representative of the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories identified the Palestinian minister and briefed the military force at the site, an officer said.

"The direct circumstances [that led to striking Abu Ein] are not clear, although the incident is being investigated," the officer said. "When a figure is recognized, the force is briefed and told to keep away. Apparently this is what happened here too. But your very presence on the front line incites the flames, even if you were recognized," he said.

The officer said the troops used stun and gas grenades. Commenting on footage showing a Border Patrol officer strangling and shoving Abu Ein, he said he saw a shove, not strangulation, but the army was still looking into it. It was also looking into the eye witness report that the minister was hit with a rifle butt, he said.

The army intends to interrogate all the soldiers who were involved in the incident and COGAT has asked the hospital the minister had been taken to for the relevant documents, he said.

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.