Eyad al-Hallaq
إياد الحلاق
Autistic Palestinian Jerusalemite shot on his way to his special-needs school · c. 1988–2020 · Old City of Jerusalem
Eyad al-Hallaq, 32, was shot dead by Israeli border police in Jerusalem's Old City while walking to the special-needs school where he studied and worked; he was cornered in a garbage shed and shot after his counselor's warnings that he was disabled — the officer who fired was charged with reckless manslaughter and acquitted in 2023.
Eyad al-Hallaq, 32, was an autistic Palestinian man from East Jerusalem who walked each morning to the special-needs school where he both studied and worked, accompanied by his counselor. On May 30, 2020, as they made their way through the Old City, police officers shouted and ran toward him; frightened, he fled, and the officers gave chase. According to the indictment later filed, the police commander fired toward him, and al-Hallaq sought refuge in a nearby garbage shed, where another officer followed him in and shot him while he was cornered, firing again after he lay wounded. His counselor, who was with him, had shouted to the officers that he was disabled. The officer who fired into the shed later told the court he had been certain al-Hallaq was a terrorist on a shooting spree, and that the counselor was his hostage.
The killing, days after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, elicited comparisons with Floyd’s case and sparked protests. More than a year later, in June 2021, prosecutors charged the officer who fired the fatal shots with reckless manslaughter, saying he had taken “an unreasonable risk” of causing al-Hallaq’s death; the commander who fired first was never charged.
On July 6, 2023, the Jerusalem District Court acquitted the officer, accepting his claim of self-defense. His father, Khairi al-Hallaq, told The New York Times the family was stunned: “The court basically told the police — do whatever you want to Arabs. You won’t get punished for it.” When prosecutors then decided not to appeal, the legal centers Adalah and Al-Mezan petitioned the Supreme Court on behalf of his parents, arguing the decision gave police blanket immunity in the killing of Palestinians; the court declined to intervene.
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Open questions
The Jerusalem District Court acquitted the officer in July 2023; prosecutors declined to appeal, and Israel's Supreme Court upheld that decision, ending the case without accountability. His family, represented by Adalah and Al-Mezan, had petitioned the court to order an appeal.