Alwaght - A Palestinian minister died on Wednesday shortly after a Zionist border policeman shoved and grabbed him by the throat during a protest in the occupied West Bank, an incident Mahmoud Abbas described as barbaric, Reuters reported .
Ziad Abu Ein, 55, a minister without portfolio, was among scores of Palestinian and foreign activists who were confronted at an Israeli regime's checkpoint while heading to a demonstration against Zionist settlements in the occupied territory .
Around 30 Zionist soldiers and border policemen fired tear gas and sound grenades at the group and a scuffle ensued in which a border policeman pushed Abu Ein and grabbed his neck firmly with one hand. Footage of the incident and pictures taken by Reuters do not show Abu Ein responding with any violence .
Minutes later the minister began to look faint and fell to the ground clasping his chest. He died on his way to hospital .
The incident comes at a time of heightened tension between Israeli Reime and the Palestinians, following months of violent unrest in Baitul Muqadas, Tel Aviv and the Israeli regime-occupied West Bank .
Fearing escalation as of tensions, Israeli regime reinforced troops in the Occupied West Bank.
Clashes broke out in a refugee camp near Ramallah and a Zionist soldier shot and critically wounded a Palestinian youth, Palestinian medics said. Ramallah shops were shuttered for the day in protest at the minister's death .
Reportedly, march toward the illegal-made settlement involved "approximately 200 rioters" and was stopped by its forces using "riot dispersal means." Footage shows the marchers moving peacefully toward the demonstration .
Mahmoud Abbas described the incident as "a barbaric act which we cannot be silent about or accept". He announced three days of national mourning and said "necessary steps" would be taken after an investigation, but did not elaborate on whether security ties with the Jewish state would be affected .
A leader of Palestinian civil society groups for decades, Abu Ein was a regular attendee of non-violent protests and was appointed this year to head a Fatah-backed protest group, the Committee to Resist Settlements and the Wall .
Shortly before his death, Abu Ein spoke to television reporters, sounding hoarse and short of breath .
"This is the terrorism of the occupation, this is a terrorist army, practicing its terrorism on the Palestinian people," he told the official Palestine TV. "We came to plant trees on Palestinian land, and they launch into an attack on us from the first moment. Nobody threw a single stone ."
