Israeli Court Acquits Border Police Officer Charged with Killing Autistic Palestinian

Khairy al-Hallaq, the father of Eyad al-Hallaq sits surrounded by pictures of his son in his family home in East Jerusalem, July 6, 2023. REUTERS/Sinan Abu Mayzer

An Israeli court on Thursday acquitted a border police officer who was charged with reckless manslaughter in the deadly shooting of an autistic Palestinian man in Jerusalem’s Old City three years ago.
The Jerusalem district court ruled that the officer was acting in self-defense when he shot and killed 32-year-old Eyad Hallaq. The case has drawn comparisons to the police killing of George Floyd in the United States.
The court described the incident as a tragic mistake, noting that the officer made a split-second decision in a dangerous situation.
Taking risks, the court said, “is an integral part of military activity.”
According to The Associated Press, the court said the officer, whose name has not been made public, was acting in “good faith” when he fatally shot Hallaq, believing him to be an attacker.
Hallaq's family has long criticized Israel's investigation into the killing. After the decision was handed down, Hallaq's mother, Rana, exited the courtroom crying.
She described her son as “simple, calm.”
“Because he was calm they killed him,” she said.
She added that she had great hope in God, “our Lord has another judgment.”
Hallaq, 32, was fatally shot just inside the Old City’s Lion’s Gate on May 30, 2020, as he was on his way to the special-needs institution that he attended.
Police, saying they thought he was a Palestinian attacker, pursued him and called for him to stop. According to accounts at the time, two members of Israel's paramilitary border police then chased him into a garbage room and shot at him as he cowered next to a bin. In total, police fired four bullets, shooting him twice, before he died, according to a court document.
A police investigation found the officer had defied instructions to stop shooting, and had acted in a “reckless” manner, according to a statement released after the verdict by the department's internal investigations unit.
Hallaq's father, Khairy, said he was shocked by the acquittal and vowed to pursue other legal action.
“We spent years in the courts waiting for the decision, but we did not expect this shocking decision,” he said. “We will not allow the murderer to be acquitted.”