Israeli Police Investigation Clears Border Police in East Jerusalem Shooting of Mentally Ill Man

The Israeli Police Investigations Department has concluded that Border Police officers acted according to protocol when they shot a mentally ill man at the Shuafat checkpoint in East Jerusalem. The incident occurred late on the night between Thursday and Friday, involving Khalil Al-Rashq, a former sanitation worker for the Jerusalem Municipality who had been suffering from schizophrenia following a severe assault by Jewish youths about seven months earlier.

According to police, Al-Rashq's suspicious behavior at the checkpoint prompted the officers to initiate a suspect arrest procedure. When he failed to comply with their orders to stop, the officers shot him in the leg. Medical teams later declared him dead at the scene due to blood loss. A search of his body found no weapons or explosives.

The investigation included testimonies from the officers and review of surveillance footage, which supported the officers' account that their actions were justified under the circumstances. The case is expected to be closed without further action. Local residents noted that Al-Rashq was well known to security forces in the area and had been unable to recover from his mental health decline after the assault in December, which left him with broken ribs, injuries, and dental damage.

Al-Rashq was a father of five and lived in the Deheisheh al-Salam neighborhood of East Jerusalem. The police emphasized that no officers were injured during the incident.