A delegation from NIFC project partner Tag Meir visited the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Wadi al-Joz on Monday night to pay a condolence call on the family of Eyad Hallaq, a 32-year-old autistic Palestinian man who was shot and killed by an Israeli police officer last Saturday.
Hallaq was on his way to his special needs education center when an officer allegedly mistook Hallaq’s cellphone for a gun.
Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz expressed regret over the killing and said, “We are sorry about the incident in which Eyad Hallaq was shot, and we of course share in the grief of his family. I am sure this issue will be quickly investigated and conclusions will be drawn.”
In the days after Eyad Hallaw was killed, Arab and Jewish citizens joined together to demand justice in cities across Israel. At protests in Tel Aviv, Jaffa, Jerusalem, and Be’er Sheva, demonstrators expressed solidarity with Americans who are protesting right now and seeking justice for George Floyd and so many others.