In an unusual move, the State of Israel expressed sorrow over the death of Palestinian Minister for Settlement Affairs Ziad Abu Ein, even before the autopsy results had been released. The reason was clear: Israel is concerned that Abu Ein’s death will rekindle the unrest in the territories now that the recent wave of violence has been curbed.

“We regret Abu Ein’s death and the matter is under investigation. We have proposed to the Palestinian Authority [PA] to conduct a joint inquiry, and a joint autopsy of Abu Ein’s body will be carried out. Security stability is important to both sides and we will pursue this coordination vis-a-vis the [PA],” Defense Minister Moshe "Bogie" Ya’alon said in a press release.

On the morning of Dec. 10, Abu Ein joined a demonstration near the illegal West Bank outpost Adei Ad, located in the Mate Binyamin regional council area. The minister of settlement affairs and for the struggle against the separation wall intended to show up with a few dozen Palestinians to plant olive trees near the outpost, where settlers had previously uprooted olive trees. Arriving at the scene before noon, they were stopped by Israeli border police forces stationed in the area. Video footage of the incident taken at the scene and posted on the web documents an altercation between Abu Ein and one of the soldiers, who, according to eyewitnesses, struck him with his rifle butt. The video does not show the strike, only the soldier forcefully shoving the Palestinian minister.

After collapsing and then slightly rebounding, Abu Ein managed to express to the camera of one of the reporters his anger over the disproportionate force the soldiers used in his opinion against the demonstrators. “This is a terrorist state that uses force against a nonviolent demonstration,” he said before losing consciousness. He was taken in serious condition to a hospital in Ramallah, where he died.