UN calls for "swift and transparent investigation" into death of Palestinian minister

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 Sunday, 14 December 2014 15:27

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Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas (right) stands by the coffin during the funeral of Ziad Abu Ein in Ramallah on December 11, 2014

The UN Security Council has called for a "swift and transparent investigation" into the death of a Palestinian minister during a confrontation with Israeli soldiers.

The Palestinian leadership blamed Israel for the "killing" of 55-year-old Ziad Abu Ein, after an Israeli border policeman shoved and grabbed him by the throat during a protest in the occupied West Bank.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned “the brutal assault that led to the martyrdom” of Abu Ein, calling it “a barbaric act that cannot be tolerated or accepted," Abbas said as he announced a three-day mourning period.

A statement issued by the Security Council on Friday "encouraged the parties to ensure that a swift and transparent investigation is undertaken" into the incident.

"The members of the Security Council called on all sides to exercise maximum restraint and to refrain from steps that could further destabilise the situation."

The top United Nations human rights official also expressed his ‘deepest condolences to Ziad Abu Ein’s family and to the people of Palestine' and said the incidents that preceded the Minister’s death are disturbing and must be carefully investigated.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said in a statement. ‘I express my deepest condolences to Ziad Abu Ein’s family and to the people of Palestine. It is a terrible and deeply tragic irony that he should die in this way after taking part in a peaceful protest against illegal settlements, centred around the planting of olive trees, on Human Rights Day.’

The Minister's death came on the same day when a Palestinian boy was shot in the head by Israeli officials in the Jalazone refugee camp in the West Bank.

“This continuous stream of fatal incidents underscores the need for effective accountability measures,” said Zeid.

On Friday, during a phone call with President Abbas, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry expressed his condolences for the death of [senior Palestinian official] Ziad Abu Ein and stressed the importance of continuing peace efforts," Palestine's state-run WAFA news agency reported.