Israel arrests 10 at protest over shooting of Palestinian-Israeli psychiatric patient

Israeli officers arrested ten people during a protest on Thursday held prior to the funeral of a young Palestinian-Israeli man with mental health issues who was shot outside a hospital near Tel Aviv.

Mustafa Yunis, 26, was shot on Wednesday after he stabbed a security guard outside the Sheba Medical Centre where he was confronted over not wearing a face mask.

Israeli police dispersed the dozens of people who attended the demonstration at Arara Junction in Wada Ara, Haaretz reported.

An initial police investigation states Yunis was shot five to six times while on the ground after he threatened those around him with a knife and stabbed a security guard.

But Yunis' uncle, Dr. Isam Yunis, said his nephew was mentally ill.

"He's a psychiatric patient and has behavioral disorders. He came [to the hospital] for counseling before an operation on his head, and also for a psychiatric examination," he said according to Haaretz.

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"My son didn't do anything. He was sick, and they murdered him in cold blood," said 

Younis' mother Abir during the Thursday protest, calling for those who shot him to stand trial. Another protest will take place outside the hospital early next week, the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee has announced accourding to Haaretz.

Head of the committee Mohammed Barakeh said: "What happened at Tel Hashomer proves how racistly Arab citizens are treated."

"That's why we decided to launch a public battle."

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Wednesday's events

Yunis got into a heated altercation after he arrived at the Sheba Health Centre for treatment and another civilian questioned him as to why he wasn't wearing a mask, Ramat Gan Mayor Carmel Shama-Hacohen told reporters.

Yunis, who had pulled out a knife, was taken to the hospital's entrance by security guards at which point he tried to stab one of the guards and was then shot, Shama-Hacohen added according to the Jerusalem Post.

"Next to the entry gate for vehicles we saw two injuries, a man in his thirties suffering from a stab wound walked at the scene and nearby an unconscious injured person lying on the ground," said MDA paramedic Adi Ben Aharon according to the Jerusalem Post.

"We put the person with the stabbing injury in the ambulance that brought him to the emergency room and conducted advanced field resuscitation operations on the unconscious injured person, who was without a pulse and not breathing and he was also brought to the hospital in critical condition."

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Yunus was declared dead after being brought into the hospital.

A video from the scene shows officers shooting Yunus.

Yunis' uncle Dr. Isam described the events in a different way. "A man who told [Mustafa] to put on a mask fought with him and told security that there was a guy in the Jeep who wanted to stab him," Isam said according to Ynet.

"[Security] stopped the Jeep and charged at him. He pulled out the knife to defend himself and they started shooting him." "I would also try to defend myself if five security guards would jump on me," said Dr. Yunis.

A parliamentarian from the Palestinian-Israeli Joint List, Yousef Jabareen, addressed the incident on social media on Wednesday, calling on police to launch an investigation.

Read more: Palestinian teenager shot dead by Israeli army near West Bank city of Hebron

"As hours go by and more details are revealed, a serious scenario of using unreasonable force emerges and [the more it seems like a] shooting of a man who was under restraint and helpless," he tweeted.

"It is difficult to avoid thinking that another Arab youth was shot in cold blood."