An 80-year-old Palestinian man died of a heart attack on Wednesday after being detained overnight by Israeli forces in the Ramallah area, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. Palestinian media said he was a dual U.S. citizen.
According to the ministry’s statement, Omar Abd al-Majid As’ad was “assaulted” and beaten by Israeli soldiers, who stopped him on his way home, in the village of Jiljilya, and handcuffed him.
The Israeli military confirmed he had been held by soldiers “after resisting a security inspection,” but said he was then released and only later, in the morning, found dead near his village.
Mayor Fu’ad Qattoum told Palestinian media that As’ad was stopped on his way back home at around 2 A.M. at a military roadblock. Several others were also briefly detained there, the mayor said.
As’ad’s family said he was taken to a hospital in Ramallah, where he was pronounced dead. His brother said that As’ad was “an elderly man who suffered from respiration and heart problems.”
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“I don’t understand how a man that age can be considered a danger,” the brother added. “They handcuffed him and shoved him. That’s abuse… I have no doubt what he went through caused his death.”
Israel’s military police have launched an investigation into the incident.
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