RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — A witness says a member of the Palestinian Cabinet has died after being hit by a tear gas canister fired by Israeli troops during a Palestinian protest in the West Bank.

Mahmoud Aloul, a leading member of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement, said the Cabinet member, Ziad Abu Ain, died shortly after the incident Wednesday near the West Bank village of Turmus Aya. Aloul says he and Abu Ain had been among dozens of protesters carrying olive tree saplings during a protest against land confiscations when Israeli troops fired tear gas at them and later beat some of the participants with rifle butts.

The Israeli military said it was looking into the report.