An Israeli court has acquitted the border police officer who was charged with manslaughter after he shot dead autistic Palestinian man Iyad al-Hallaq in May 2020.
The Jerusalem district court ruled on Thursday that the officer was acting in self-defence when he carried out the shooting of 31-year-old Hallaq.
Hallaq was in Jerusalems Old City on his way to a special needs school when the police officer shot him.
According to the court, the officer was forced to make a split-second decision in a dangerous situation, and taking risks "is an integral part of military activity".
The judges accepted the police officers claim of self-defence, saying that the officer made an honest mistake and did not know that Iyad was an innocent man with special needs".
The officer told the court that the incident lasted a few seconds and he was under the impression that a woman was about to be murdered.
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