US urges probe into death of elderly Palestinian after arrest

Jerusalem, Jan 13 (EFE).- The United States on Thursday called for an investigation into the death an elderly Palestinian man after he was detained by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank.

“We support a thorough investigation into the circumstances,” US State Department Spokesman Ned Price told reporters.

The Israeli military said the 80-year-old man with US citizenship was alive when he was released on Wednesday morning.

But his relatives believe he suffered a heart attack because he was blindfolded, handcuffed and beaten when he was detained by Israeli soldiers during an overnight raid in the village of Jaljulia, near Ramallah.

The Israeli army said the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division was reviewing the incident.

The man, whose funeral was held Thursday, was found by neighbors in a building under construction early Wednesday, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa. He was transferred to a nearby hospital but died on the way.EFE

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