The UN Security Council is calling on Israel and the Palestinian Authority to 'swiftly' investigate the death of Ziad Abu Ein, a Palestinian minister who collapsed and died on Wednesday after a confrontation with Israeli security forces in the West Bank. Abu Ein, who headed the PLO's Commission Against the Separation Wall and Settlements, died en route to a Ramallah hospital after being shoved and grabbed by the neck by an Israeli policeman at a demonstration near the village of Turmus Aiya. The cause of the minister's death is still in dispute with the Israeli Health Ministry saying he died of a heart condition coupled with stress, and the Palestinians saying it was directly correlated to the altercation with officers which quickly turned violent. The 15 members of the Security Council issued a statement on Friday, expressing grief over Abu Ein's death and urging both sides to show restraint and prevent the situation from escalating further.
(photo credit: The Jerusalem Post)