Lawyer slams Israeli army cover-up of tear gas death

Ma'an – The lawyer of the family of a Palestinian woman who died after being tear-gassed by Israeli troops at a West Bank protest accused the military on Sunday of a cover-up.

"Once again the army is covering up the actions of its men, instead of apologizing and conducting a serious inquiry," Michael Sfard told Israel's army radio after the military announced an investigation into the death of Jawaher Abu Rahmah.

The 36-year-old died in hospital in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah after collapsing on Friday during a protest against the Israeli separation barrier in the nearby village of Bil'in, hospital staff said.

Sfard accused the army of "using a massive amount of gas" during the protest.

The Israeli military said that an "investigation has been opened to determine the exact cause of death," and that it had "unsuccessfully contacted the Palestinian Authority to obtain a medical report."

On Friday, the military said it had used unspecified "means of dispersing demonstrations" against some 250 violent protesters taking part in a weekly rally against the fence near the West Bank village of Bil'in.

Photos showed clouds of tear gas billowing around stone-throwing protesters.

.....Nearly 200 demonstrators gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday to protest against Abu Rahmah's death. A dozen people were arrested, an AFP correspondent reported. Overnight on Saturday, another 11 people were arrested after demonstrating outside the US ambassador's residence in the city of Herzliya, just north of Tel Aviv. Read more