ABBAS DECLARES THREE DAYS OF MOURNING FOR PA OFFICIAL

Ramallah, 18 Safar 1436/11 December 2014 (MINA) – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday declared three official days of mourning following the death of PA official Ziad Abu Ein earlier in the day at a peaceful demonstration.

A Palestinian security source told AFP that Israeli forces beat Abu Ein with the butts of their rifles and their helmets during a protest march.

He lost consciousness and was taken to Ramallah Public Hospital where he was later pronounced dead, Ma’an News Agency quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

Laila Ghannam, the governor of Ramallah and el-Bireh, also declared three days of official mourning, saying that “targeting a minister in cold blood is declaring war, by Israel, on the whole world that respects human rights.”

Abu Ein was a “fighter against the Israeli separation wall, settlements and terrorism against Palestinians,” she added.

Senior PLO official Hanan Ashrawi also strongly condemned Abu Ein’s “extrajudicial killing.”

Israel’s use of excessive and indiscriminate violence constitutes war crimes under international law. Israel habitually uses extreme violence, especially against non-violent resistance, and Ziad was guilty of nothing more insidious than planting olive trees on Palestinian land that Israel was attempting to steal.

Ashrawi said the Palestinian leadership demands an independent, neutral investigation into this latest Israeli crime, calling for an end to impunity for Israeli violations. (T/P007/P3)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)