On May 30, Israeli police officers shot and killed a Palestinian man with mental disability in East Jerusalem.
Soon after the murder of Iyad Khairi Hallaq, 32, Israeli reports suggested that the autistic man was carrying a “suspicious object that looked like a pistol.”
Later, it was claimed, also by Israeli sources, that Hallaq was carrying a toy gun.
Last minutes before Iyad Hallaq's execution
#Watch| On May 30, Israeli police officers opened fire at Iyad Hallaq, a 32-year-old Palestinian intellectually disabled man, accusing him of holding a gun, which turned out to be his gloves and face mask. This video shows the last minutes before the execution of Iyad Hallaq.
Posted by Quds News Network on Tuesday, June 2, 2020
However, according to eyewitnesses, when Hallaq was shot and fell on the ground, he was merely holding his gloves and a face mask.
Hallaq’s brutal murder by Israeli soldiers sparked outrage and protests throughout Palestine.
On June 1, Israeli channel 13 aired a surveillance video, showing the last minutes before Hallaq was shot by Israeli forces.
In the video, Hallaq appears to be holding two garbage bags as he walked towards the Al-Bakriya institute where he received a basic education. There was no evidence that Hallaq had any violent intentions towards the Israeli police or anyone else.
Khairi Hallaq mourns his son who was murdered by the cold-blooded Israeli occupation forces while he was on his way to Al-Bakriya School in the Old City of Jerusalem. His son, Iyad, belongs to the people who have special needs, but we all know how much puresouls they are carrying pic.twitter.com/U9AVcu1OxO
— Palestinian Eve 🇵🇸 (@Palestinian_Eve) May 30, 2020
“When Iyad approaches an area where Israeli police officers are deployed near Al Asbat gate,” Quds News Network reported on June 2, “Israeli officers start shooting at him, claiming that they thought Iyad was a member of the resistance.”
After the killing, Israeli officers reportedly broke into the house of Hallaq’s family, assaulting his sisters, while searching the house for any evidence that may link the autistic man to Palestinian resistance.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
