Rep. Rashida Tlaib urges to investigate Israeli forces’ killing of elderly Palestinian American in West Bank
Washington (QNN)- U.S. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has urged US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, to investigate the killing of elderly Palestinian-American, Omar Abul-Majid As’ad, after being detained and brutally beaten by Israeli occupation forces during a military raid in the occupied West Bank last week.
“Two days ago, Israeli troops stopped a car driven by 80-year-old Palestinian-American Omar Abdulmajeed Asaad. They dragged him from the car, beat him, and left him on the ground to die,” tweeted Tlaib, the first Palestinian Progressive Democrat and was born in Detroit to Palestinian immigrant parents.
“This is outrageous!” she added, calling on the US Secretary of State to investigate the incident.
Two days ago, Israeli troops stopped a car driven by 80-year-old Palestinian-American Omar Abdulmajeed Asaad. They dragged him from the car, beat him, and left him on the ground to die. This is outrageous! I call on @SecBlinken to investigate. https://t.co/Skpo2MkvNE
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) January 14, 2022
On January 12, the 80-year-old Palestinian-American Omar Abul-Majid As’ad died after being detained and brutally beaten by Israeli occupation forces who also blindfolded and handcuffed him during a nighttime military raid on the village of Jiljilyya, north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
The elderly man died of a heart attack, as the Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed in a statement.
Local residents explained that an Israeli occupation force raided the village of Jiljilyya after midnight and started assaulting all the Palestinian passers. As’ad was violently detained and beaten by the Israeli occupation soldiers when he was coming back home after visiting his relatives.
The occupation soldiers stopped his vehicle and pulled him out of it. They blindfolded and handcuffed him before starting to drag him on the ground and brutally beating him, leaving him in an under-construction building in the village of Jiljilyya.
The residents added that at about 4:30 AM, the Israeli occupation soldiers had left the village and As’ad was later found dead by a resident walking in the village near the building.
Photographs circulating on social media showed a black plastic tie around at least one of his wrists.
As’ad had a history of cardiac and respiratory illness, according to his family, who also said he had lived in Milwaukee for decades before returning to the occupied West Bank about 10 years ago.
Imagine an 80-year-old man being tied to the back and beaten to death by soldiers as young as his grandchildren…
1/2 pic.twitter.com/drQeKX3ixA— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) January 12, 2022
The US has also asked ‘Israel’ for a clarification and expressed its “condolences about this tragedy.”
Asked for comment on the matter during a daily press briefing last Wednesday, US State Department spokesman Ned Price began by confirming that the elderly Palestinian man was an American citizen.
“We have been in touch with Mr. As’ad’s family to express our condolences about this tragedy. We’re providing all of the consular assistance to the family at this time,” Price said.
“We’ve also been in touch with the government of Israel to seek clarification about this incident, and as you may have seen the Israeli Defense Forces have indicated that there’s an ongoing investigation into the matter.”
“We support a thorough investigation into the circumstances of this incident,” Price added.
