Israeli court acquits officer who killed autistic Palestinian in 2020

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
6 Jul 2023 17:34
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Israeli media say Israeli judges accepted the murderer's claim of self-defense "due to a mistake in where things stand."

The mother of Eyad Al-Hallaq mourns her son at their home in occupied Al-Quds, on June 1, 2020 (AFP)

In continuation of "Israel's" criminal policy against the Palestinian people, the Israeli occupation's Al-Quds District Court on Thursday acquitted an Israeli occupation police officer who murdered 32-year-old autistic Palestinian Eyad Al-Hallaq in the eastern part of occupied Al-Quds while he was on his way to his special needs school in May 2020, Israeli media reported.

The Israeli Haaretz news website indicated that Israeli judges accepted the murderer's claim of self-defense "due to a mistake in where things stand."

According to the news website, the Israeli court ruled that the officer made "an honest mistake [believing] he was faced with an armed terrorist", claiming that the officer "didn’t know Eyad was an innocent man with special needs."

Al-Hallaq's parents expressed their anger over the unlawful ruling, with his father saying that there is "one justice [system] for Jews and another for Arabs," and his mother shouting, "You are all terrorists! My son is under the ground!"

Israeli occupation Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir hailed the ruling, saying, the "hero soldiers who protect the State of Israel with their lives will get a hug and full backing from me and from the Israeli government," as per Haaretz.

Amir Cohen, the commander of the Israeli occupation's so-called "Border Police", pointed out that the acquitted officer will return to the force. On his part, Israeli occupation Police Commissioner, Kobi Shabtai, said he believed the court's ruling to acquit the murderer was "right".

The Israeli news website noted that the officer was previously charged with murder and his trial began last year. In February, he claimed he was convinced that Al-Hallaq was a "terrorist" who was ready to kill a woman that was later found to be the Palestinian martyr's school counselor, Warda Abu Hadid.

Abu Hadid, who was with Al-Hallaq when he was brutally murdered, stressed that she tried to protect the martyr but occupation police officers ignored her when she told them that he had special needs.