Soldiers who killed Palestinian-American get slap on the wrist, Biden admin ‘not satisfied’

The Israeli army concluded its investigation last week into the death of Omar Asaad, an 80-year-old dual Palestinian-American citizen who was killed during a violent Israeli raid on his hometown in the occupied West Bank in January. 

Asaad suffered from a heart attack on January 12th, after he was dragged out of his car in the middle of the night by Israeli soldiers, bound, gagged, and left in a cold abandoned warehouse for hours. 

In its own internal investigation, which came after mounting pressure from US officials, the army concluded that Asaad’s death was a “grave and unfortunate event, resulting from a moral failure and poor decision-making on the part of the soldiers.”

In a summary of the investigation, the army claimed that Asaad was stopped within the “framework” of “counterterrorism activities” in his hometown of Jiljilya, in the northern West Bank. 

Claiming that Asaad did not have ID on him and “refused to cooperate with the security check,” the army said its soldiers “responded” by tying his hands and gagging him for “a short time.” The army said that he was “released and freed from all constraints” after half an hour. 

Witnesses, including those who were tied up alongside Asaad, said at the time however that Asaad was dragged and beaten by soldiers – of which there was no mention in the army report. Locals also claimed that when Asaad was found, he was still blindfolded and tied up, lying on the floor. 

“The investigation determined that upon his release, the soldiers did not identify signs of distress or other suspicious signs concerning Assad’s health. The soldiers assessed that Assad was asleep and did not try to wake him,” the army report said. 

The two Palestinians who were being detained alongside Asaad told the Washington Post that Asaad was “unconscious and not breathing when the soldiers left them.”

In its statement, the army said that Asaad’s death violated “one of the IDF’s core values—to protect human life.”

In 2021, the Israeli army killed 341 Palestinians, including 86 children, and has killed six Palestinians so far in 2022. 

‘Empty words’

In the conclusion of the investigation, the Israeli army said that it “deeply regrets the death” of Asaad, and called it a “clear lapse of moral judgment.” 

The army said that the responsible unit’s commander will be “reprimanded,” and that the relevant platoon and company commanders “will not serve in commanding roles for two years.”

The US State Department, however, said they were not satisfied with the findings of the army’s investigation, nor with the disciplinary actions taken against some of the soldiers, and that they expect Israeli officials to carry out a “comprehensive criminal investigation.” 

“The United States expects a thorough criminal investigation and full accountability in this case, and we welcome receiving additional information on these efforts as soon as possible,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.

And while the army claimed that killing Asaad was “runs contrary to the values of the IDF,” Israeli human rights group B’Tselem pointed out that the Israeli army rarely holds its soldiers accountable for its human rights violations against Palestinians in the occupied territory. 

Even when soldiers are filmed on video carrying out grave human rights violations, prison time is a rarity. 

B’Tselem condemned the army’s investigation, saying: “‘Moral failure’ is just an empty expression when accompanied, as expected, with the faintest of rebukes.”

“In fact, the fundamental moral failure is that of Israel’s senior echelons, leading a regime of Jewish supremacy, one in which the human life of Palestinians has no value,” the group said.