EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has called for a immediate independent investigation into the death of Palestinian Minister Ziad Abu Ein during a demonstration near Ramallah in the West Bank.
‘’I would like to express my condolences to the family of Minister Ziad Abu Ein, to the Palestinian Authority and to the Palestinian people following Minister Abu Ein's death today in the Palestinian village of Turmusaya,’’ she said.
‘’Reports of excessive use of force by Israeli security forces are extremely worrying. I call for an immediate, independent investigation into Minister Abu Ein's death. This is a dramatic reminder for the entire international community of the deteriorating situation on the ground,’’ Mogherini said.
‘’I expect all sides to exercise maximum restraint at this time and to avoid all actions that would further raise tensions,’’ she added.
In an autopsy of the body of Ziad Abu Ein at the pathological institute in Abu Dis in the West Bank – in which Israeli pathologists participated-, a preliminary report found the cause of death was a heart attack and previous heart disease coupled with stress, Israel's Health Ministry said.
The senior PA official died soon after a verbal confrontation with Israel Defense Forces during a demonstration in the West Bank.
The Health Ministry in Jerusalem said that Dr. Chen Kugel, head of the Forensic Institute at Abu Kabir, and Dr. Mia Forman participated in the autopsy along with Palestinian and Jordanian pathologists.
The death of the 55-year-old PA minister was caused by the “blockage of the main coronary arteries that delivery oxygenated blood to the heart muscle caused by hemorrhaging under the plaque layer. The change in the layer (bleeding) can be caused by stress,” the ministry said.
Earlier, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was reviewing the circumstances of the death of Ziad Abu Ein during riots against the IDF in Turmus Ayya, near Ramallah. Security forces halted the progress of the ten rioters into the Jewish civilian community of Adei-Ad.
The IDF had authorized the demonstration, but soldiers stepped in when participants moved close to Adei-Ad. A shouting match broke out between soldiers and Abu Ein, who died of a heart attack after he shoved and verbally abused Israeli officers on the scene.
Abu Ein, 55, was a convicted terrorist who previously held the post of Palestinian Authority Deputy Minister of Prisoners' Affairs. He was appointed by the PA to organize campaigns against Jewish settlements in the West Bank,
Arab and Palestinian media claimed Abu Ein died after being "beaten" by IDF soldiers, but footage from the event proves that he remained untouched during his heart attack and Palestinians refused and blocked IDF medical assistance that could have been life-saving.
But a British television news reporter revealed that the Palestinian demonstrators prevented an Israeli medic from providing aid to Abu Ein. Palestinian Authority official who collapsed after he shoved and verbally abused Israeli officers on the scene.
In a live report for British Sky News broadcaster, Middle East correspondent Tom Rayner reported that Ziad Abu Ein was lying on the ground “unconscious” after the clash – although separate footage shot by Russian broadcaster RT displayed Abu Ein conscious and sitting up after his altercation with the IDF officers.
“When he’s on the floor, an Israeli medic does come up to him, she tries to clear an area around him, but Palestinians pick him up and take him straight to a vehicle,” Rayner reported.
The medic was “not able to deliver any first aid,” Rayner continued, and Abu Ein was “declared dead when he got to a hospital in Ramallah.”
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.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a message to the Palestinian Authority through his personal emissary, attorney Yitzhak Molcho, to assure it that Israel would thoroughly investigate the incident.
According to Netanyahu’s office, the message “noted the importance of calming the ground, and acting responsibly.”
Abu Ein was handed a life sentence in Israel in 1982 after being extradited from the United States in 1981 over the murder of two Israelis in Tiberias in 1979. Abu Ein planted the explosives which killed the two - Boaz Lahav and David Lankri.
But he never served his life sentence over the murders as he was released in the Ahmed Jibril prisoner swap deal in 1985, just three years later.