May 30 2020 - Hundreds of Israelis and Palestinians demonstrated in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv against the killing of Iyad al-Hallaq, a Palestinian man with autism who was shot dead by police officers in Jerusalem’s Old City.
Al-Hallaq, 32, was on his way to the special education school he attended and worked at near Lion’s Gate when Border Police officers began pursuing him, claiming he had been holding a weapon. Al-Hallaq reportedly fled and hid behind a nearby dumpster, where the police officers shot and killed him. No weapon was found at the scene of his death.
In Tel Aviv, over 200 people protested outside the city’s police headquarters while over 150 left-wing activists, including a dozen Palestinians, marched on Jerusalem’s King George Street. The demonstrators held signs that read “Palestinian Lives Matter” and “Justice for Iyad, Justice for George,” in reference to George Floyd.
“Police violence in East Jerusalem is policy, just like the policy against black people in the U.S.,” said Shahaf Weisbein, one of the organizers of the Jerusalem protest. “Police violence and the policies of occupation against the Palestinians are a sad routine. It is time to end the occupation, and for justice for all victims of police violence everywhere.” [article]