Jerusalem District Court Judge Chana Lump acquitted A., a Border Police officer who shot Eyad al-Hallaq, a man with special needs from eastern Jerusalem.
A. was indicted on charges of manslaughter after he shot al-Hallaq in Jerusalem's old city, thinking he was a terrorist.
"The court's heart is with the family of the victim. The officer found himself in a complex situation: the area saw many terror attacks, and the defendant arrived at the incident after Eyad was already identified as an armed terrorist. He made an honest mistake. He did not know that Eyad was an innocent person and had special needs," the judge wrote.
The officer wrote on Facebook: "I hope this ends tomorrow, but whatever happens in court, I will always carry this heavy weight around for the rest of my life. I want justice. I deserve justice. I want all the lies that were told about me to disappear. I want the court to tell everyone that I am not a criminal, that I am a fighter that wanted to do one thing: prevent a terror attack. I would never harm an innocent person."
A's father stated: "The shooting was completely operational, there was a report by police of a terrorist, there was a chase, and my son got there before everyone else. He was certain that he was neutralizing a terrorist and that he was shooting to stop a threat, and the internal investigations unit took this story and tried to spin it with crazy fake news. All of these things fall apart in court, and I repeat that the witnesses that the internal investigations unit brought support my son's version. All of the officers there said they would have done the same thing."
"It a tragedy for both sides," the officer's mother stated. "Two families were destroyed, but I can tell you that my son doesn't wake up in the morning with the plan to kill someone. A. shot after he felt threatened, especially after he heard a woman scream, he came to help here, how did all this turn against my son?" The father added: "My son was not abandoned, he is backed by the Commissioner and by Amir Cohen, the commander of the Border Police. He has the support of the high ranks, he continued his service. As far as the system, he was not a disobedient officer, he was an officer who followed orders and did what was needed.