Questions remain about what happened to Assad after he was detained by Israeli forces at a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli army said troops later unbound his hands and left him face-down in an abandoned building.

Assad was pronounced dead at a hospital after other Palestinians who had been detained found him unconscious. A Palestinian autopsy showed that he died from a heart attack brought on by injuries sustained while he was detained.

The Israeli military reprimanded a senior officer and removed two others from leadership roles after its own investigation concluded that Assad’s death resulted “from a moral failure and poor decision-making on the part of the soldiers.” It was a rare acknowledgement of error from a military that has long come under criticism for rarely holding soldiers accountable.

Assad’s family said they would reject Israel’s settlement so they could continue to push the U.S. to conduct its own independent investigation. Several members of Congress have also called for an American probe.

“If we close the deal, the U.S. government will close the (case),” Assad, his brother, said. “We want justice.”

WMJ editor’s note: Mr. Assad and his wife were residents of Wisconsin.
Originally published by AP News