A Palestinian minister has died following a confrontation with Israeli troops at a West Bank protest.<br /><br /> The images in the video above were filmed at the demo, shortly before Ziad Abu Ein died.<br /><br /> Palestinian medics say he died from inhaling tear gas. A photographer from the Reuters news agency said soldiers had shoved the minister. The Israeli military said it would investigate the reports.<br /><br /> Abu Ein, a minister without portfolio, had been with 100 other activists at a protest organised by the Committee to Resist Land Settlements and the Wall.<br /><br /> They were planning to plant olive trees near the Jewish settlement of Shilo, when a confrontation with soldiers began.<br /><br /> The troops fired tear gas and scuffles erupted. Abu Ein was rushed to hospital by ambulance but died en route to Ramallah. <br /><br /> His death could serve to heighten tensions between Israelis and Palestinians, which have flared into deadly confrontations in recent weeks.<br /><br /> Shops in Ramallah closed in protest at Abu Ein’s death.<br /><br /> The President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, called the minister’s death “a barbaric act which we cannot be silent about or accept”. He declared three days of national mourning.
