Arab MK slams ‘lack of evidence’ claim in killing of disabled Palestinian

A member of the Israeli parliament for the Joint Arab List has slammed claims by police officers that there is a “lack of evidence” in the killing of a disabled Palestinian man in Jerusalem last month, Al-Quds Al-Araby has reported. Aida Touma-Suleiman MK cast doubts on the narrative coming out of the Ministry of Justice that there is no video footage of the killing of Eyad Hallaq, who was autistic.

The Police Investigation Unit, Mahash, which looked into the killing claimed that it could not find any video footage because the cameras were not working at the time of the incident. Investigators told Al-Hallaq’s family that they had nearly completed their investigation, but also claimed that there had been no video footage of the killing. Touma-Suleiman told the Knesset that no one can trust this narrative.

“It aims to hide the crime of executing the Jerusalemite Eyad Hallaq,” she insisted. “Mahash wants to hide the evidence related to the hideous crime which reflects the real face of the occupation’s barbarism, the killing of a Palestinian with special needs.”

READ: Israel killed autistic Palestinian who ‘didn’t know what soldiers are’

The MK pointed out that the Israeli occupation police use cameras everywhere in Jerusalem’s Old City to monitor the Palestinians, control everything in the occupied city and protect the settlers, but then claim that they were shut down when it comes to killing a Palestinian.

“Unlike previous occasions, the Israeli occupation forces could not accuse the Palestinian victim of being a ‘terrorist’ because he was disabled,” she said. “Hence, the police have had to hide the recordings in order not to expose the hideous crimes committed against the Palestinians.”

Touma-Suleiman called for practical measures to be taken to expose such crimes and Israel’s oppression of the Palestinians. She stressed the importance of an international commission to probe Israel’s field executions of the indigenous people of occupied Palestine.

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