On May 30, 2020, Israeli police fatally shot Iyad al-Hallaq, a 32-year-old autistic Palestinian man from the Wadi Joz neighborhood in East Jerusalem. Al-Hallaq had been approaching Lions’ Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City when police suspected that he was a potential threat; they began to chase him, shooting in his direction — and missing — as they ran behind him. Al-Hallaq ran into a small garbage room, followed by a police officer and his commander. The officer shot al-Hallaq in the leg, after which the commander shouted not to shoot. Then, after al-Hallaq, who was lying on the floor, moved his upper body, the officer shot him once more in the chest, killing him. Al-Hallaq was not carrying a weapon, and did not attempt to carry out any violent action against anyone.
Two months later, in July 2020, the Justice Ministry claimed there was no video footage of the killing, despite the fact that there are no fewer than 10 private and security cameras in the area between Lions’ Gate, where the chase began, and the garbage room where al-Hallaq’s life ended. Y., the officer who killed al-Hallaq (in Israel, the names of security personnel who are on trial for killing Palestinians are barred from publication), was indicted for reckless homicide, an offense that, at least in theory, carries up to 12 years in prison.
These are the facts. So what led the Israeli justice system to determine that his brutal killing was justified, and to acquit the police officer responsible earlier this month? It is not a simple task to justify armed men chasing down and shooting dead an autistic man. In fact, it took Jerusalem District Court Judge Hannah Miriam Lomp’s 70-page verdict to accomplish this leap of legal logic.