On Thursday, the Israeli Ministry of Justice announced that an accusation has been made against an Israeli policeman for killing a Palestinian with autism in Jerusalem nearly a year ago, in an incident that sparked widespread protests and condemnations. Iyad Halaq (32 years old) was on his way to volunteer at a school for children with special needs in the Old City of Jerusalem on May 30, 2020, when he was chased by police and shot dead. The policeman, whose name was not disclosed in the indictment, faces a prison sentence of up to 12 years if convicted.
The indictment stated that Halaq, at the time of his death, "was not holding anything in his hands nor doing anything to justify that, and the accused fired towards the upper part of his body, thereby creating an unreasonable risk of causing Iyad’s death." Palestinians have long complained about the violent practices of the police and Israeli forces in East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. Protesters likened Halaq's killing to the killing of African American George Floyd in the United States by police.
Rana, Halaq's mother, told Reuters, "Justice will not bring us anything. Nothing will bring my son back to life." She questioned, "Other officers were involved in his killing. Where are the charges against them?...It wasn't hard to tell that my son was disabled. Everyone can see that."
Israeli police say that officers only use force or fire their weapons when necessary, and that incidents like Halaq's killing are subject to investigation. The indictment noted that Halaq was unarmed and was wearing a mask to protect against COVID-19 and gloves in the Old City of Jerusalem when police saw him and suspected he was carrying a weapon. Officers ordered him to stop in Arabic and Hebrew and alerted other forces via radio to the presence of a suspected attacker.
The indictment further stated that police officers from the border unit, who received the radio warning, spotted Halaq running away and asked him to stop. It continued that Halaq kept running, and the higher-ranking officer between the two fired at his legs but missed. They then chased Halaq to a garbage collection area where the lower-ranking officer shot him in the stomach.
Amid a rise in violent incidents in the West Bank, a 16-year-old Palestinian boy died on Thursday after an Israeli soldier shot him during clashes that occurred near the city of Nablus the day before. The Israeli army stated that its forces faced dozens of Palestinians, one of whom ran towards a soldier and threw an explosive substance at him. The army added in a statement, "In response, the soldier moved to stop the suspect by firing in the air and then firing towards him."
