Palestinian autopsy reveals minister, Ziad Abu Ein died from heart attack
Elior Levy/Ynetnews
Latest Update: 12.11.14/ Israel News
Palestinian-led autopsy of Ziad Abu Ein congruent with Israeli claims, says he died from stress-induced heart attack, but say attack, lack of medical care at fault; Israeli doctor: His heart was already functioning at less than 80%.
Israeli and Palestinian medical officials seemed to agree on the results of the autopsy of the Palestinian minister who died after being shoved and grabbed by the neck by an Israeli policeman at a West Bank protest, but issued conflicting interpretations Thursday.
Abu Ein, a Palestinian Authority cabinet minister, collapsed and died in the afternoon hours of Wednesday. Now a Palestinian-led autopsy claims his cause of death was a stress-induced heart attack.
The report, being led by Palestinian, Jordanian and Israeli pathologists, said the death was caused by blockage in the coronary artery, and said there were signs of light internal bleeding and localized pressure on the neck, at least according to the Israeli version of the report published by the Health Minixtry
The deceased suffered from heart disease, and there was evidence that plaque buildup were clogging more than 80% of his blood vessels, as well as signs that he had suffered heart attacks in the past.
The Palestinian government issued a statement after its meeting, blaming Israel for the “murder” of Abu Ein. “After publication of the results, we can say that Israel is responsible for the murder of Abu Ein,” the government said.
Initially, Hussein al-Sheikh, a top Palestinian official, told Reuters that Jordanian and Palestinian doctors involved in the late night examination of the body said Ziad Abu Ein, 55, had died from being struck, inhaling tear gas and not receiving prompt medical attention.
However, Dr. Hen Kugel, the Israeli doctor who took part in the autopsy, told Ynet that the report was not final and that they were awaiting on the return of some tests, however “we know what happended there – he died from a heart attack. He had significant blockage of the arteries and his heart was in bad shape. When they grabbed his neck it caused massive stress which led to bleeding and then full blockage which is what killed him.”
“There is no disagreement with the Palestinians about this, the only thing we still need to find out about is wounding to his front teeth, tongue and windpipe. These could be a result of resuscitation attempts or an attack as the Palestinians claim, but it doesn’t matter, he died because of his heart and stress,” Dr. Kugel said.
Abu Ain’s funeral took place Thursday in the West Bank city of Ramallah and Israel has reinforced its forces in the area with two battalions of soldiers and two companies of border police in preparation.
Over 50 Palestinians rioted in Turmus Iya in the West Bank, where Abu’s Ein altercation with IDF took place, as hundreds attended his funeral in Ramallah. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas laid a reef on his coffin.
Abbas called Abu Ain the victim of a “clear crime” and a “barbaric act Wednesday.” He decreed three days of mourning for the minister, whose portfolio included organizing protests against Israeli settlements and the West Bank separation barrier.
Abbas held up a photo of the Israeli officer grabbing Abu Ain’s throat. Palestinians circulated the photo on social media under the hashtag #ICantBreathe – drawing a link to the chokehold killing of an unarmed black man by a white police officer in New York.
At the time of the event, palestinian sources claimed the minister, who reportedly suffered from an unspecified illness and which could have played a role in his death, had been hit in the chest by the butt of a soldier’s gun, and then collapsed. However the circumstances of his death remain unclear, and the possibility is being examined that the minister suffered a heart attack.
Palestinians mourn official as Israel braces for unrest
Hossam Ezzedine| Agence France Presse
Dec. 11, 2014
RAMALLAH: Thousands of Palestinians gathered Thursday to mourn a senior official who died in a confrontation with Israeli troops, as the army sent reinforcements to the West Bank and braced for unrest. The Palestinian leadership blamed Israel for the “killing” of 55-year-old Ziad Abu Ein, as tensions threatened to boil over into another round of violence in the occupied territories. Officials and onlookers streamed into the Ramallah headquarters of president Mahmoud Abbas in the late morning, ahead of a planned funeral procession to a nearby cemetery, an AFP correspondent said. Uniformed Palestinians carried Abu Ein’s coffin, draped in a Palestinian flag, into the courtyard, as nationalist songs blared and mourners chanted “Revenge!” and “Your blood will not be spilled in vain!”
Schools were closed in a day of mourning and posters of Abu Ein were plastered on walls throughout the West Bank city. A short distance away, additional Israeli troops and border guards were being deployed in anticipation of clashes with mourners and protesters, an army spokeswoman said, especially given the cemetery’s proximity to the Jewish settlement of Psagot. Abu Ein died Wednesday after a confrontation with Israeli soldiers during a protest march against settlements by some 300 Palestinians who intended to plant olive trees as a symbolic act, an AFP photographer said. Troops fired tear gas, three soldiers grabbed Abu Ein and he was struck in the chest during the confrontation. Videos circulating online showed the soldiers pushing Abu Ein firmly in the chest and neck.
He collapsed and was treated by an Israeli army doctor, but died later in hospital.
“After hearing the results of the post-mortem, the Palestinian government holds Israel fully responsible for the killing of Ziad Abu Ein,” government spokesman Ihab Bseiso told reporters in Ramallah on Thursday. A Palestinian minister said the post-mortem, which was carried out by a Palestinian, an Israeli and Jordanian doctors, had shown that Abu Ein was killed by the actions of Israeli troops. “The reason for the death of Abu Ein was his being hit by (Israeli) occupation troops and because of the heavy use of tear gas,” Palestinian civil affairs minister Hussein al-Sheikh told AFP.Sheikh said Israeli forces had prevented Abu Ein from getting to a hospital quickly enough to save his life. Israel’s health ministry said the death was caused by a “blockage of the coronary artery” which “could have been caused by stress,” adding that Abu Ein suffered from poor health including heart disease. The incident prompted Abbas to threaten measures in response. “All options are open for discussion and implementation,” Abbas told an emergency session of the Palestinian leadership late Wednesday, amid speculation that crucial security cooperation with Israel could be shelved. Islamist movement Hamas, rivals of Abbas’s West Bank administration and de facto rulers of the Gaza Strip, urged the Palestinian Authority (PA) to cease security coordination immediately.
Israel’s government urged calm, with Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon expressing regret for the death and saying a military inquiry had been launched. “Security stability is important for both sides,” he said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a message through one of his aides to Abbas in which he “pointed to the need to calm the situation and act responsibly,” his office said. The death of Abu Ein, who was a former PA deputy minister and was responsible for dealing with the settlement issue, follows months of tensions between Israelis and Palestinians and a wave of unrest in the West Bank and Arab east Jerusalem. Israelis are on edge after “hit-and-run” car attacks by Palestinians that killed five people, as well as an assault last month that saw two Palestinians burst into a Jerusalem synagogue, leaving four rabbis and a policeman dead. The tensions have been heightened by Israeli announcements of new settlement construction in east Jerusalem and the West Bank.
