A Palestinian worker died early Sunday morning, January 24, of a heart attack resulting from the inhalation of toxic teargas fired at him by Israeli occupation soldiers. Fo’ad Sebti Joudeh, 48, the father of four children the eldest of whom is ten years old, died near the village of Far’oun, south of the city of Tulkarm in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian new agency Wafa reported.

Two Israeli women soldiers stop a Palestinian worker as he tries to cross to his place of work in Israel through a hole in the fence near the city of Qalqilya, occupied West Bank, January 10, 2021. (Photo: Activestills)

Joudeh was among dozens of Palestinian workers who were on their way to their places of work inside Israel, when Israeli occupation soldiers fired teargas canisters at them as they tried to cross a gate in the Israeli segregation barrier near the village of Far’oun. Joudeh man reportedly died of a heart attack shortly after inhaling the toxic gas. His body was transferred to a hospital in the nearby city of Nablus, ahead of his funeral in his hometown of Iraq al-Tayeh.

Joudeh’s brother, Jabr said his brother had not suffered from any pre-existing disease prior to the deadly incident, indicating that the excessive use of teargas by the occupation forces was behind the sudden heart attack that killed the 48-year-old man. According to Jabr Joudeh, his brother’s work permit in Israel had expired a few days before the incident which resulted in the latter’s death.

Around 122,000 West Bank Palestinians are employed in Israel and settlements in the occupied territories, according to official Israeli government figures. The vast majority work in construction and agriculture, and their incomes constitute nearly a quarter of the economy within the Palestinian Authority.