Palestinians Blast Israel in Minister's Killing

Cabinet member Ziad Abu Ain involved in protest: reports
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 10, 2014 8:17 AM CST
Palestinians Blast Israel in Minister's Killing
Ziad Abu Ain speaks to reporters during a news conference in Baghdad, Iraq, in this Dec. 10, 2012 file photo.   (AP Photo/Karim Kadim, File)

A Palestinian Cabinet member has died amid a West Bank protest, reports say. A leading Fatah figure tells the AP that Ziad Abu Ain was hit by a tear gas canister shot by Israeli troops, while Palestinian health officials say he was suffocated by the tear gas, the BBC reports. Another witness, a Reuters photographer, says Israeli troops hit and pushed Abu Ain, the BBC notes. Mahmoud Aloul, of Fatah, says Abu Ain was involved in a protest against confiscated land that was met with tear gas and troops' rifle butts.

"The Israel government bears full responsibility for the killing of Minster Abu Ain and the systematic crimes committed against the Palestinian people," said Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erekat, as per NBC. "This new assassination will have severe consequences." Israel is reviewing the situation, the Guardian reports, noting that Abu Ain's work involved addressing the matter of Israeli settlements. (More Palestine stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X