Israeli army dismisses two officers over death of elderly Palestinian

Israeli military said its core value of protecting human life had been breached by the two

Mourners attend the funeral of Palestinian-American Omar As'ad, who was found dead after being detained and handcuffed during an Israeli raid in Jiljilya village, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. RShow more

Israel's military said on Monday it was dismissing two officers and would reprimand a battalion commander over the death of an elderly Palestinian this month, which it said resulted from "a moral failure and poor decision-making".

Omar As'ad, 78, who was also a US national, was found dead after being detained by Israeli troops in Jiljilya village in the occupied West Bank on January 12.

A Palestinian post mortem examination found Mr As'ad, who had heart problems, had suffered sudden cardiac arrest caused by the stress of being manhandled.

The military at the time said he was alive when the soldiers left him.

In a summary of its investigation on Monday, the military said it found Mr As'ad had refused to co-operate with troops in the area and that "his hands were tied and he was gagged for a short time".

After being detained for half an hour, he and three others were released.

"The soldiers did not identify signs of distress or other suspicious signs concerning As'ad’s health," the military said. "The soldiers assessed that As'ad was asleep and did not try to wake him.

"The investigation concluded that the incident was a grave and unfortunate event, resulting from a moral failure and poor decision-making on the part of the soldiers."

A core value of the Israeli military, to protect human life, had been broken, the military said.

"It was further determined that there was no use of violence during the incident apart from when As'ad was apprehended after refusing to co-operate.

"The soldiers failed in their obligations by leaving As'ad lying on the floor without the required treatment and without reporting the incident back to their commanders."

After the examination, a US embassy spokesman in Jerusalem said it was "deeply saddened" by As'ad's death and it supported "a thorough investigation into the circumstances of the incident".

Palestinian leaders have called for the soldiers involved to be prosecuted in an international court.

As'ad was a former resident of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who lived in the US for decades and returned to the West Bank 10 years ago, his brother told Reuters.

Israeli military police were carrying out their own criminal investigation, the findings of which will be submitted to the Military Advocate Corps for a legal review and determinations, the military said.