"Such crimes are a fuel for the Palestinian people's revolution, which will not stop fighting until the withdrawal of the occupiers from all our lands," the organization said. "The response of our people, every time, will be continued resistance and intifada."
Following the incident, the gates to the old city have been closed by Jerusalem police, in fear of protests. The Temple Mount is scheduled to reopen tomorrow.On Saturday, a protest titled "Murder in the Streets: Justice for Iyad al-Hallak" is scheduled to start in Jerusalem at 8:30 p.m., while another is scheduled to start in Jaffa at 7:30 p.m.In the Knesset, reactions to the incident ranged between mourning and rage. Blue and White leader Yair Lapid tweeted that "the death of a young person with special needs is heartbreaking and Israel as a whole is bowing its head in mourning. This is not our way."Joint List Chairman Ayman Odeh sent his condolences to the family of the bereaved, saying of the incident that "we must fight against the expected whitewashing of the case and make sure the cops sit in jail, while at the same time remembering that they only pulled the trigger, but the occupation loaded their weapon."
"Justice will only be served when the al-Halak family, their friends and the rest of the Palestinian people know freedom and independence," Odeh added.Joint List MK Ahmed Tibi later visited the house of the bereaved family. He called for the camera footage of the incident to be released and said that international intervention was needed, as the incident occurred "in an area under occupation."
Joint List MK Aida Touma Sliman referenced a recent statement made by Israel's new Public Security Minister Amir Ohana, saying "The new police minister recently said whomever attacks a police officer is responsible for his own death. Apparently, that is the case for all Palestinians - whatever they do."
"If you are shocked by the killings in the US, look at what’s happening here – an entire people under occupation cannot breathe," she said.
MK Ofer Kassif of the Joint List said following the man's death that "the incident today in Jerusalem can only be defined as murder by police officers."
According to Kassif, Israel's government shares some blame for the incident.
"The incitement from the government's corridors has worked as planned and now every Palestinian is a terrorist until proven otherwise. 'Terrorists' are executed even when lying on the ground or running for their lives," he said.
"The real terror is military rule, occupation, which promises to continue to pour blood here every day," Kassif concluded.
Meretz leader Nitzan Horowitz commented on twitter that he had demanded further investigation into the incident, saying "I contacted the police demanding to investigate the killing of Iyad al-Hallak, a young man with special needs.""Police called him as he walked around the Lion's Gate. He probably didn't understand or know to respond. The cops started chasing him and although he did not commit any crime, was unarmed, and was not threatening them in any way, opened fire (7 bullets). Why?" He asked.
"An unforgivable act," Horowitz concluded.
Meretz chairman MK Tamar Zandberg said she "initiated a debate on the Knesset's internal committee and called to investigate the circumstances of the incident and the trigger-happy policy.""Instead of more relief and forgiveness for loss of life, a 180 degree policy change must be made," she said.