Israel to Pay Family of Palestinian-American Who Died in Detention

Facts

• Israel's Defense Ministry announced on Sunday that it had reached a settlement to compensate the family of Omar Asaad, a Palestinian-American man who died in January this year after being detained by Israeli troops.
• This marks a rare case of compensation paid to Palestinians, with Israeli authorities agreeing to pay about $141K to Asaad's family if they in turn agree to drop the lawsuit. His brother, however, denied the family had accepted any offer.
• 78-year-old Asaad was reportedly stopped by Israeli troops during a military operation and found unconscious by other detained Palestinians. While the moment of his death remains unclear, he was allegedly handcuffed, blindfolded, and dragged to the ground by soldiers.
• According to an autopsy conducted by the Palestinian Authority and reviewed by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), he died of a stress-induced heart attack, brought on by allegedly being tackled, bound, gagged, and abandoned at a construction site.
• After receiving criticism from the US, the Israeli military issued a statement earlier this year deeming his death a "grave" incident stemming from "moral failure and poor decision-making" of the soldiers. Two soldiers were reassigned to non-commanding roles and a third was censured.
• The Biden admin. has pressured Israel to conduct a "thorough criminal investigation" to bring those responsible to justice, with US Ambassador Tom Nides meeting with the IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi to discuss the incident.

Sources: Associated Press, NPR Online News, Al Jazeera, Times of Israel, and ABC.

Narratives

• Pro-Palestine, as provided by Middle East Monitor. Omar Asaad was brutally murdered during an IDF operation as part of Israel's illegal occupation of the West Bank. His family will be compensated, but only because he was a US citizen and Washington pressured Israel. The truth is that human rights abuses like this one are violations of international law and daily occurrences in Israeli-occupied Palestine.
• Pro-Israel, as provided by Jerusalem Post. The IDF soldiers involved in the death of Omar Asaad failed in their responsibility to care for those in their custody. However, although they should have provided Asaad with medical attention, it was ultimately Asaad's poor health that caused his death. Asaad's family is being rightfully compensated for this hardship, and Israeli authorities are responding appropriately to this tragedy.