As the pandemic lockdown and the Eid al-Fitr holidays were winding down, a Jerusalem resident with special needs fell victim to Israeli brutality. Late on May 30, Iyad al-Hallaq, a 32-year-old Palestinian, was excited to be going back to the center that caters to autistic persons. Two Israeli security officers shouted at Hallaq to stop, but he ran away and hid behind a garbage container. His caregiver shouted in Hebrew to the Israeli soldiers that he is a disabled person, but they paid no attention to her. They ran after him and sprayed him with bullets causing his immediate death.

Israel’s newly appointed Defense Minister Benny Gantz quickly announced an investigation into the incident and apologized for what happened. While a serious investigation is necessary to avoid a war crime investigation, PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat wrote in a May 30 tweet in response to the killing, “A crime that will be met with impunity unless the world stops treating Israel as a state above the law and the International Criminal Court [ICC] fulfills its mandate.”

International and Israeli human rights organizations have for some time come to the conclusion that Israeli investigations of killings of unarmed Palestinians are not taken seriously. Amit Galutz, spokesman for the Israeli B'tselem human rights organization, has said that his organization has stopped since 2016 assisting the Israeli army in investigations, because the Israeli activities are nothing more than a “whitewash.” A serious investigation and follow-up are necessary to avoid a war crimes investigation.

According to rule 158 of the International Humanitarian Law, " States must investigate war crimes allegedly committed by their nationals or armed forces, or on their territory, and, if appropriate, prosecute the suspects. They must also investigate other war crimes over which they have jurisdiction and, if appropriate, prosecute the suspects."