US asks Israel for clarification over death of citizen in West Bank

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price was speaking during a briefing in Washington DC. (Screenshot/State Department)

LONDON: The US State Department confirmed on Wednesday that an 80-year-old Palestinian-American man found dead in the West Bank was a US citizen.
Omar Abdalmajeed As’ad was found earlier on Wednesday after being detained and handcuffed during an Israeli raid on an occupied West Bank village, Palestinian officials and relatives said.
The State Department said had been in touch with the Israeli government for clarification over the death.
“The Israeli Defense Forces have indicated there’s an ongoing investigation into the matter,” said State Department spokesperson Ned Price, adding: “And we support a thorough investigation into the circumstances of this incident.” 
As’ad’s body was found in Jiljilya, a city near Ramallah, in the early morning with a plastic zip-tie still around one wrist.
The Israeli military said it had carried out an overnight operation in the village, and that a Palestinian was “apprehended after resisting a check.” It said he was alive when the soldiers released him.
“The Military Police Criminal Investigation Division is reviewing the incident, at the end of which the findings will be transferred to the Military General Advocate Corps,” it said in a statement.
As’ad was a former Milwaukee, Wisconsin, resident who lived in the United States for decades and returned to the West Bank 10 years ago, his brother told Reuters.
Price told reporters that they have little more that they were able to offer during this time.
“We have been in touch with Mr. As’ad’s family to express our condolences about this tragedy (and) we are providing, as you would expect, all appropriate consular assistance to the family at this time,” he added.
(With Reuters)