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Israeli army dismisses two officers over death of elderly Palestinian

Reuters MIDDLE EAST
Published February 01,2022
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Israel's military said on Monday it was dismissing two officers and would reprimand a battalion commander over the death of an elderly Palestinian earlier this month that it said resulted from "a moral failure and poor decision-making."

Omar Abdalmajeed As'ad, 78, who was also a U.S. national, was found dead after being detained by Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank on Jan. 12. A Palestinian autopsy found he had suffered sudden cardiac arrest caused by the stress of being manhandled.

An Israeli military statement on Monday said an "investigation concluded that the incident was a grave and unfortunate event" while it was "determined that there was no use of violence during the incident apart from when As'ad was apprehended after refusing to cooperate."