US Demands Answers Over Israeli Military’s Handling of Palestinian American’s Death

The United States is seeking more information about the closure of an Israeli military investigation into the death of a 78-year-old Palestinian American who had been detained by Israeli soldiers and who was gagged and left unconscious shortly before being pronounced dead, the State Department said on Wednesday.

The statement followed an announcement by Israel on Tuesday that it would not bring criminal charges against the soldiers involved in the detention of Omar Assad at a West Bank checkpoint last year. The Israel Defense Forces admitted that the actions of the soldiers, who left Assad lying unresponsive on the ground without offering medical help or checking to see whether he was alive, showed a lapse of moral judgment. But the IDF said the soldiers would face internal disciplinary measures only, because it could not determine that their misconduct directly caused his death.

Human rights groups long have argued that Israel rarely holds soldiers accountable for the deaths of Palestinians and that Israeli military investigations often reflect a pattern of impunity.

In the US, where Assad lived for four decades and where his family still lives, the State Department said it was discussing “this troubling incident with the Israeli government.”

“We are at this time seeking more information,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters in Washington. “We’re going to talk to them directly about it.”

Miller said the US government had expected “a thorough criminal investigation and full accountability” from Israel.