Palestinian minister died from artery blockage: Israel

Jerusalem, Dec 11 (IANS) A joint forensic team Thursday ruled in a preliminary autopsy report that the death of Palestinian cabinet minister Ziad Abu Ein during a protest Wednesday was caused by “blockage to the coronary artery”.

The Israeli health ministry circulated the initial results of the autopsy, which was carried out by two Israeli doctors from the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, as well as Palestinian forensics specialists and Jordanian doctors, Xinhua reported.

“The death of Ziad Abu Ein was caused by a blockage of the coronary artery, which supplies blood to the heart, due to haemorrhaging, the bleeding could have been caused by stress,” the statement read.

“The deceased suffered from ischemic heart disease and blood vessels were over 80 percent blocked by plaque. Old scars indicate that he had suffered from previous myocardial infarction,” it said.

“The poor condition of the decease’s heart caused him to be more sensitive to stress,” it added.

The pathologists did find “indications of light haemorrhaging and localised pressure in his neck,” consistent with footage showing the deceased minister being grabbed by the neck by Israeli border police guards.

In addition to the initial autopsy report, lab results and a medical treatment report will be issued as well.

Hundreds of people Thursday attended the funeral of the Palestinian minister at a hospital in Ramallah from where he was transferred to the Muqata, the headquarters of the Palestinian government, where the funeral cortege was to arrive at noon after winding through the city streets, EFE reported.

The German government called for an investigation into the minister’s death. “The tragic death of Ziad Abu Ein in the West Bank represents a new low in the weeks-long tensions between Israelis and Palestinians,” Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said.

“Now it is important to promptly shed light to the conditions of his death, in a comprehensive manner, one that will be comprehensible to all,” Germany’s senior diplomat added.

Egypt Wednesday condemned the killing and urged Israel to exercise self-restraint. “Egypt urges the Israeli side to exercise self-restraint and immediately stop excessive use of force and such illegitimate practices, especially the settlement activities,” Egypt’s foreign ministry said in a statement, warning against the endless violence such acts may lead to.

In a short televised statement, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas denounced the murder as “a brutal act” and a “crime”, adding that, “We insist on continuing popular resistance against the Israeli occupation and settlement until they are gone.”

The Palestine Liberation Organisation’s (PLO) head of the Committee to Resist Settlements and the Wall, Abu Ein, was killed while taking part in an olive-planting event in the village of Turmusaia, north of Ramallah.

The plot of land was confiscated from Palestinian families for the expansion of a Jewish settlement.

According to eyewitnesses, Israeli soldiers supported by Border Police attempted to use tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse a crowd of around 100 people who were protesting peacefully during the olive-planting ceremony.

Witnesses charged that Abu Ein was head-butted by a helmet-wearing soldier, struck repeatedly in the chest and inhaled large amounts of tear gas.

After suffering breathing problems, he went into a coma before being transferred to Ramallah Medical Centre, where doctors declared him dead.

Since its occupation in Palestinian territories in 1948, Israel has maintained a policy of settlement expansion that has been always one of the main obstacles facing the Middle East peace process, according to Abbas.

The Palestinians seek an independent state in light of the UN-proposed two-state solution based on the pre-1967 borders.