A man suspected of being armed but who in fact was not armed was killed on Saturday by Israeli security forces in the Old City of Jerusalem. The identity of the man has not been revealed by the Israeli police for the time being, but according to the Israeli media and the Palestinian news agency Wafa, it is Iyad Hallak, a resident of Wadi district. Joz in East Jerusalem, in his thirties.
In a statement, police said police on patrol had spotted a man "with a suspicious object that looked like a gun". “They asked him to stop and started chasing him on foot. "
"During the chase, the police opened fire on the suspect who was neutralized," said the police, who added that they had subsequently found "no weapon at the scene". A police spokesman confirmed that the man had been killed.
Mental disorders?
The incident took place near the Lions Gate, which overlooks the Old City, in East Jerusalem, the Arab part of the holy city occupied and annexed by Israel since 1967. According to the Wafa agency, the victim frequented " an institution for people with special needs ”, a wording probably referring to mental disorders. Israeli media also reported that the man had "special needs".
Israeli police executes Palestinian man with special needs this morning in East #Jerusalem. Iyad Khayri, 32, had developmental disorder and worked as a hairdresser. #palestine #icantbreathe #minneapolispalestine #PoliceBrutality pic.twitter.com/kdRiMXxLTu
- Palestine in the UK (@PalMissionUK) May 30, 2020On Friday, a Palestinian was killed by the Israeli army while trying to launch his car against soldiers north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, the army said. A Palestinian man who attempted to stab an Israeli policeman in East Jerusalem on Monday was seriously wounded by security forces, police said.
Israel and the occupied West Bank were the scene from October 2015 and for months of anti-Israel attacks most often committed with a knife by young isolated Palestinians, sometimes also with a ram car and to a lesser extent, to the gun. The violence has since decreased in intensity, but persists sporadically.