Former MK Rabbi Yehuda Glick saved from ‘murderous lynch’ at condolence visit to Arab family

“Ten people suddenly grabbed me, lifted me up and threw me down a flight and a half of stairs,” the former Knesset member said.

By Aaron Sull, World Israel News

An Arab suspect involved in the beating of a former Knesset member was released to home arrest Friday.

According to a police statement, the 20-year-old Arab was arrested in eastern Jerusalem on Thursday. He was released Friday after posting a 5000 shekel ($1450) bond and will be under house arrest until his trial, Ynet reported.

Rabbi Yehuda Glick, known for his activism in support of the right of Jews to pray at the Temple Mount, was attacked on Wednesday after visiting the family of Iyad al-Halak, an autistic Arab mistakenly shot by Israeli police officers.

“I went in the name of people who want peace, a gesture of goodwill,” Glick told Channel 13.

“When I entered the home and presented myself to the mourners, around 10 people suddenly grabbed me, lifted me up and threw me down a flight and a half of stairs,” Glick said.

“I want to thank God Almighty, Creator of the world, for saving my life once again from an assassination attempt,” said Glick.

“What I went through yesterday in Jerusalem was a murderous lynch. As a matter of fact, it concluded with a miracle. Just miraculously, I am alive right now.”

After a relative of Halak helped him escape, Glick was taken to a nearby hospital and was treated for minor injuries.

Halak was mistakenly killed near the Old City of Jerusalem on Saturday by Israeli police. A police statement said Halak was holding a “suspicious object that looked like a pistol” and was ordered immediately to stop, but instead, he fled and was shot by officers.

“No weapon was found at the scene after the area was searched,” the statement said.

Halak’s caregiver, who was present at the scene, told Channel 13 she called on the police not to shoot because the young man was autistic and did not understand their calls to stop.

“He’s disabled, disabled,” Warda Abu Hadid recalled. “Wait a moment, take his ID card, check his ID.”

“Suddenly they fired three bullets at him, in front of my eyes,” she said. “I shouted: ‘Don’t shoot him.’ They didn’t listen; they didn’t want to hear.”

Public Security Minister Amir Ohana defended the officers involved, saying police are “required to make fateful decisions in seconds in an area that has been inundated with terror attacks, and in which there is a constant danger to their lives.”

Following the killing, protesters gathered on the streets of Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv to protest, comparing it to the killing of George Floyd, an African-American killed by a Minneapolis police officer.

Demonstrators waved red flags and held signs reading “Palestinian Lives Matter,” and “Justice for Iyad, Justice for George.”