'Mentally ill' Palestinian-Israeli shot outside hospital after fight breaks out over lack of face mask

Palestinian-Israeli Mustafa Yunis was shot by security guards after he pulled out a knife outside the hospital.

3 min read

14 May, 2020

Mustafa Yunis, 26, was shot outside the hospital near Tel Aviv [Twitter]

A Palestinian-Israeli man was shot outside Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv on Wednesday, after he reportedly brandished a knife during a fight over his lack of face mask.

Mustafa Yunis, 26, got into a heated altercation after he arrived at the hospital for treatment and another civilian questioned him as to why he wasn't wearing a mask, Ramat Gan Mayor Carmel Shama-Hacohen told reporters.

Yunis, who had pulled out a knife, was taken to the hospital's entrance by security guards at which point he tried to stab one of the guards and was then shot, Shama-Hacohen added according to the Jerusalem Post.

"Next to the entry gate for vehicles we saw two injuries, a man in his thirties suffering from a stab wound walked at the scene and nearby an unconscious injured person lying on the ground," said MDA paramedic Adi Ben Aharon according to the Jerusalem Post.

"We put the person with the stabbing injury in the ambulance that brought him to the emergency room and conducted advanced field resuscitation operations on the unconscious injured person, who was without a pulse and not breathing and he was also brought to the hospital in critical condition."

Yunus was declared dead after being brought into the hospital.

A video from the scene shows officers shooting Yunus.

Twitter Post

A parliamentarian from the Palestinian-Israeli Joint List, Yousef Jabareen, addressed the incident on social media on Wednesday, calling on police to launch an investigation.

"As hours go by and more details are revealed, a serious scenario of using unreasonable force emerges and [the more it seems like a] shooting of a man who was under restraint and helpless," he tweeted.

"It is difficult to avoid thinking that another Arab youth was shot in cold blood."

Yunis's brother said he suffered from mental health issues, the Jerusalem Post reported, expressing anger that his brother was shot.

"He even has a handicapped parking permit," the brother said.

Read more: Palestinian teenager shot dead by Israeli army near West Bank city of Hebron

Yunis' uncle Dr. Isam Yunis said his nephew only pulled out the knife to defend himself from the guards, Ynet reported.

"A man who told [Mustafa] to put on a mask fought with him and told security that there was a guy in the Jeep who wanted to stab him," the uncle said. "[Security] stopped the Jeep and charged at him. He pulled out the knife to defend himself and they started shooting him."

"I would also try to defend myself if five security guards would jump on me," said Dr. Yunis.

Arab-Israelis, also known as Palestinian-Israelis, make up over 20 percent of Israel's population.

They are the descendents of Palestinians who did not flee their homes in 1948, when Zionist militias expelled the vast majority of Palestinians from what is now Israel.

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