Iyad Halak was shot shortly after his caretaker informed the Israeli authorities he was autistic, drawing comparisons with the recent death of George Floyd under policy custody. Tanzia Haq writes.
Iyad Halak had been on his way to an educational institute in Jerusalem’s Old City on Saturday when he was shot dead after becoming confused by police shouting at him. His caretaker, Warda Abu Hadid, claims to have repeatedly told police that Halak was severely autistic.
Israeli police later issued a statement saying that they saw a, “suspect with a suspicious object that looked like a pistol”. “They called upon him to stop and began to chase after him on foot, during the chase officers also opened fire at the suspect, who was neutralized.”
Although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not address the shooting in a cabinet meeting on Sunday, the defense minister of Israel issued a formal apology and promised to investigate the matter.
The killing has led to human rights activists from Palestine, Israel and the US to draw similarities in systemic police brutality towards black people and Palestinians. Since Saturday, small protests broke out in Israel and Palestine, with protestors holding “Palestinian Lives Matter” signs, a reference to the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement in the US. Protestors also posted photos of Israeli army and police detaining Palestinian men in the same way as George Floyd, by kneeling on their necks.
George Floyd’s death has sparked country-wide violent protests since 26 May.
