Death of elderly Palestinian calls attention to notorious IDF unit
Israelis are shaken and embarrassed by an incident last month in which IDF soldiers arrested an almost 80-year-old man in the middle of the night and left him outside in the cold, where he died.
Almost a month has passed since the death of Omar Asaad. The 78-year-old Palestinian, who also has US citizenship, died in Israeli custody Jan. 12 after being arrested by the Israel Defense Forces in a West Bank village just north of Ramallah. The incident has embarrassed Israel and the IDF all around the world.
Last week, IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi met with US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides to express his regrets over Asaad’s death. Asaad held American citizenship and had lived in the United States for many years. According to an IDF statement posted on Twitter, Kochavi informed the ambassador that both an in-depth inquiry by the IDF and an investigation by the military police are underway. Kochavi called the incident "a grave moral lapse."
Had Asaad not been an American citizen, the shocking circumstances surrounding his death might have been lost in a flood of reports about other incidents between the IDF and Palestinians. In this case, however, the US State Department demanded an response almost immediately.
The unique story is shining a spotlight on the ugly face of the Israeli occupation not only in the international arena, but also within Israel itself. Photos of a handcuffed Asaad forced to lie on the floor in the freezing January cold have popped up in the media, along with photos of his life: an elderly man surrounded by a loving family. They broke through the barrier of Israeli apathy.
