Hundreds attend funeral of autistic Palestinian killed by Israeli forces

Hundreds of people in Jerusalem attended the funeral on Sunday of an autistic Palestinian man who was shot dead by the Israeli police. 

Iyad Hallak, 32, was shot dead by Israeli police on Saturday in Jerusalem's Old City. 

Authorities said Hallak had refused to stop for police who said they saw the Palestinian "carrying a suspicious object that appeared to be a gun".

The suspicious object later turned out to be a phone.

The unarmed Palestinian fled the scene and hid behind a dumpster, where he was then shot as many as 10 times, according to a lawyer representing his family.

The officer who shot Hallaq said he "suspected the man was a terrorist because he was wearing gloves", according to a report by Haaretz, which cited a statement by the Border Police.

Hallak was a resident in the occupied East Jerusalem's Palestinian neighborhood of Wadi Joz, and attended a special needs school not far from where he was shot.

The victim's cousin, Hatem Awiwi, has said that Hallaq was on the low-functioning end of the autism spectrum and could only communicate with his parents.

"He saw a stranger and fled, and then they shot him," Awiwi said.

The incident angered Palestinians, who gathered in demonstrations carrying signs reading "Iyad's life mattered" and "Palestinian Lives Matter", echoing the Black Lives Matter movement that originated in the United States.

The developments prompted Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz to apologise.

Read more: Israel police kill Palestinian they mistakenly thought was armed

"We are sorry about the incident in which Iyad Halaq 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," Gantz said.

However, the Israeli politician and newly appointed minister came under fire by Palestinians who said the official 'intentionally' left out the details of the police shooting, and accused him of 'justifying police violence'.

Gantz told a cabinet meeting on Sunday that Israeli security forces would "make every effort to use necessary force with the intention of reducing casualties as much as possible".

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