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Israeli forces fatally shoot unarmed Palestinian man with special needs in al-Quds

Israeli military forces have shot and martyred an unarmed Palestinian man with special needs in the Old City of al-Quds, as tensions continue to mount in the Occupied Territories amid the Tel Aviv regime’s contentious plan to annex parts of the West Bank.

According to Press TV, the Israeli police alleged in a statement on Saturday that the 32-year-old man, identified as Iyad Halak, was “holding a suspicious object that appeared to be a gun.” 

The statement added that the man was asked to stop by Israeli officers stationed near the Lion’s Gate, a main entrance to the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, but ran away when ordered to stop.

Israeli forces then briefly chased him on foot and opened fire.

Palestinians said Halak, a resident of Wadi al-Joz neighborhood in East al-Quds, had been on his way to a special needs educational institute in the Old City where he studied.

They added several bullets had been fired towards the ill-fated, mentally-challenged Palestinian man, and that he was left on the ground bleeding for a while until he attained martyrdom.

His father said Israeli forces searched the family home after the shooting, despite the fact there was no evidence Iyad was armed.

An initial investigation has reportedly been opened into the matter and two Israeli police officers were questioned over the shooting.