Israel police kill Palestinian they mistakenly thought was armed

According a statement released by the Israeli police, the officers said they saw the Palestinian "carrying a suspicious object that appeared to be a gun" and ordered him to stop.

After the man refused and started fleeing the scene, the officers started chasing him on foot and opened fire, ultimately killing him.

The Palestinian, who has special needs according to his family, allegedly did not stop for questioning and was killed by the police. According to Haaretz, he was found to be unarmed.

Hallak was a resident in the occupied East Jerusalem's Palestinian neighborhood of Wadi Joz. According to his family members, he was a person with special needs who attended and worked in a special needs school not far from where he was shot.

According to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), 
at least 21 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in 2020.

The Old City was reportedly closed off by the police following the killing. An internal police investigation is looking into the incident, Israeli media reported.

Two Israeli police officers suspected of shooting and killing Elkhalaq are being questioned, while security footage is also being reviewed, reports said.

The incident comes less than a day after Palestinians took to social media to express solidarity with the family of George Floyd, an African-American man who was killed at the hands of a white policeman in Minneapolis. 

Read more: Unconditional solidarity: Palestinians rally support for family of George Floyd, African-American killed by Minneapolis police

In comments to Haaretz, Hallak's devestated family members denied the possibility of him carrying even a toy gun. "He wasn't capable of harming anyone," the family told Haaretz.

The family said they were not provided with details, other than that the body was transferred to the Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir.

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