The Border Police officer who shot and killed Iyad al-Hallak, a Palestinian with special needs, in occupied eastern Jerusalem in 2020 was acquitted of all charges by a Jerusalem district court on Thursday afternoon.

“Justice for Iyad,” Israeli demonstrators in western Jerusalem, July 6, 2023 (Photo: Free Jerusalem)

Hallak, a 32-year-old student, was shot dead on his way to school near the Lions’ Gate of Jerusalem’s Old City. In the Border Police’s original statement, it was noted that the officer identified what appeared to be a “suspicious object” in al-Hallak’s hands.

The court’s decision shows that Israeli courts handle cases of occupation cops abuses against Palestinians “with disdain for the basic value of life,” Hadash MK Aida Touma-Sliman, a Palestinian wrote on Twitter. MK Ofer Cassif (Hadash) aldo attacked the ruling, claiming that the Israeli court “greenlit the murder of Palestinians.”

Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=30177