Israeli Police Kill Unarmed Palestinian in East Jerusalem

Israeli police shot and killed an unarmed and mentally disabled Palestinian man Saturday in the Wad el-Joz neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported. 

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The victim was identified as Iyad Khairi Hallak, 32, who was attending an institution for people with special needs in the same area where he was killed. After he was shot, witnesses reported he was left on the ground bleeding by the occupation forces until he died.

According to Israel, the officers opened fire due to what they thought was “a suspicious object that looked like a pistol.” Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld confirmed no gun was found later on the scene. 

"It is a real crime in the first place and those who committed it must be brought to justice, and be convicted by the International Criminal Court," Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in a statement, holding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fully responsible for the killing.

After the murder police closed all gates leading into Jerusalem’s old city and banned entry or exit from it. They also raided the Hallak home in Wad el-Joz and questioned his family.

The incident comes a day after Israeli soldiers also killed a Palestinian near the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah who they alleged had tried to ram them with his vehicle, although no Israelis were wounded.

"These crimes against humanity will remain the fuel for the revolution of the Palestinian people, who will carry on with their struggle until the liberation of their occupied land," Hamas' spokesman Hazem Qassem affirmed.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu and his coalition government have announced they will go ahead and illegally annex parts of the occupied West Bank and Jordan Valley by July, despite international condemnation from the United Nations, European Union, and dozens of governments.