California police said Monday they have opened an investigation into the death of a Jewish man who died during clashes between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protesters.
Clashes broke out between protesters at two rallies, one pro-Palestinian and one pro-Israel, in Thousand Oaks, northwest of Los Angeles, on Sunday, according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.
At the scene, police determined that the victim, Paul Kessler, 69, “had suffered head trauma,” the statement said. “Witnesses stated that Kessler was involved in a physical altercation with one or more protesters” at the pro-Palestinian rally.
“During the altercation, Mr. Kessler fell backwards and hit his head on the ground,” the statement continued. He died on Monday as a result of his injuries, according to the same source, who said an investigation had been opened.
This incident came a month after the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas attacked on Israeli soil in which more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, died. The Palestinian Islamist movement has also taken more than 240 hostages to Gaza.
Since then, Israel has been bombing the Gaza Strip relentlessly. According to Hamas, Israeli bombings killed more than 10,022 people, most of them civilians, including more than 4,000 children.