RAMALLAH: President Mahmoud Abbas said all options were open for a Palestinian response to the killing Wednesday of Ziad Abu Ein, a senior Palestinian ex-minister, who died after being roughed up by Israeli troops.

“All options are open for discussion and implementation,” he said amid speculation that security cooperation with Israel could be shelved.

Abbas described the death as “a barbaric act that cannot be tolerated or accepted.”

Abu Ein died as he took part in a march by some 300 Palestinians who planned to plant olive trees as a symbolic act of protest against illegal Israeli settlements. The group was attacked by Israeli soldiers who fired tear gas in the village of Turmusayya. Three soldiers grabbed Abu Ein and hit him in the chest, an AFP lensman said.

EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini demanded an “immediate” inquiry into the incident. “Reports of excessive use of force by Israeli Security Forces are extremely worrying: I call for an immediate, independent investigation into... Abu Ein’s death,” she said. “I expect all sides to exercise maximum restraint at this time and to avoid all actions that would further raise tensions.”