Netanyahu laments killing of autistic Palestinian

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday called the killing of an unarmed Palestinian man with autism a "tragedy," more than a week after Israeli police shot him dead in East Jerusalem, reported Xinhua.

It was the first remark by the prime minister on the killing of Iyad Halak who was gunned down by Israeli policemen outside his school for people with special needs.

The incident sparked protests and comparisons to the death of the black man George Floyd in the United States.

At the start of his weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu admitted that Halak was "wrongly" suspected "of being a terrorist in a very sensitive place."

"We all share in the family's sorrow," he said, offering his condolences on behalf of "the entire Israeli public as well as the entire Israeli government."

Inquiries over the police's conduct have been launched, Netanyahu noted.

An Israeli police force on May 30 shoot and killed Halak in the Old City of East Jerusalem.

After the shooting, the police issued a statement, saying Halak carried "a suspicious object that looked like a pistol."

The object turned out to be Halak's mobile phone, according to the Hebrew-language Ha'aretz newspaper.

The police have issued a gag order that bans the publishing of information on the identity of the policemen involved and details of the case.

Rallies have been held in the West Bank and Israel to protest the killing and police violence, with people holding signs reading "Palestinian lives matter."