Thursday, 22 October 2020_Hamas has decried a decision by Israeli authorities to level a charge of unintentional murder against a police officer who shot dead an unarmed mentally ill Palestinian in the occupied Jerusalem al-Quds nearly five months ago.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qasem on Thursday called on all competent international organizations to take action to hold accountable the Israeli regime's authorities who issue orders to kill defenseless Palestinians.
“The occupation, with its aggressive and criminal behavior, will continue to commit crimes against our people as long as it feels that it is above international law,” the spokesman said.
Israeli prosecutors on Wednesday recommended charging a police officer with reckless manslaughter in the deadly shooting of Eyad al-Hallaq, an autistic Palestinian man, in Jerusalem al-Qud’s Old City on May 30.
Qasem said the Israeli decision showed that "the Zionist regime’s apparatuses were accomplices” in committing crimes against the Palestinians.
“Such a decision is not new to the institutions which are known for exonerating the murderers. They have already acquitted all those who committed massacres against out people,” the spokesman said.
“The crime of killing al-Hallaq, who had an autism disorder, has confirmed the occupying regime's sadism,” he added.
Al-Hallaq, a 32-year-old Palestinian, was shot by two Israeli officers in the vicinity of al-Asbat Gate, a main entrance to the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem al-Quds. The slain man attended and worked at a school for people with special needs in the Old City.
Israel forces claimed in a statement following the killing that the Palestinian was allegedly “holding a suspicious object that appeared to be a gun.”
Following the shooting, Israeli police sealed off the Old City and local media reported that medics were barred from entering the area. Palestinians said he was shot by several bullets and that he was left on the ground bleeding for a while until he died.
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