Internal police probe looking into checkpoint killing of Jerusalem city worker
Sanitation worker Khalil a-Rishq, 50, shot several times after failing to heed calls to halt, police say; was reportedly left to bleed out; was also victim of 2025 Jewish extremist assault
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The Department of Internal Police Investigations this week announced that it is probing the killing of a Palestinian man who worked for the Jerusalem municipal sanitation department, after he was shot dead by security forces at a checkpoint.
The deceased, 50-year-old Khalil a-Rishq, was shot twice in the legs and once in the groin on Thursday night by a Border Police officer and private security guard at the Shuafat checkpoint in East Jerusalem.
Police said that officers shot at Rishq after he approached on foot a checkpoint meant for vehicles and refused to heed their calls to halt, saying that a Palestinian suspect “was shot in the leg,” and adding: “There are no injuries to our forces.”
According to the DIPI, a Justice Ministry unit that investigates police officers on criminal suspicions, Rishq bled to death at the checkpoint. It was unclear how long it took for medics to arrive after he was shot, but witnesses said he was left bleeding out at the scene for an “extended period of time” before receiving medical assistance.
While the DIPI told The Times of Israel that it was probing the incident, the investigation will not include an autopsy, Channel 13 reported Wednesday. The report did not detail why investigators were forgoing the procedure.
The decision to forgo an autopsy would seriously hamper investigators’ ability to confirm police claims that the officer and security guard shot Rishq while he was moving toward them, the report said.
סוף עצוב ומטורף לחליל: חליל אל ראשק, עובד התברואה שחשפנו איך בני נוער הרביצו לו רק כדי להעלות לסטורי בטרנד מכות לפלסטינים, נורה למוות על ידי לוחם משמר הגבול בחמישי האחרון ועל ידי מאבטח אזרחי במחסום מחנה הפליטים שועפט. לפי העדויות של הלוחמים , הוא לא נענה לקריאות לעצור ואז ביצעו… https://t.co/BSQK1ppGPl pic.twitter.com/StF9aXFNVm
— Yossi Eli (@Yossi_eli) July 27, 2026
Rishq, who worked as a municipal sanitation worker in Jerusalem for many years, was also the victim of an attack last December by a pair of Jewish extremist teenagers while he was sweeping a sidewalk in the city.
The filmed attack took place in Jerusalem’s Ramot neighborhood, and was part of a string of beatings of Arab bus drivers and other public employees.
The assault was captured by a steady street-view camera, which showed Rishq sweeping the sidewalk when two teenagers pulled up on an electric bike, made a U-turn, drove into him and disembarked. The pair then bent Rishq to the ground and proceeded to pummel him, kicking him as he tried to crawl away, before riding away on their bike.
The attack left Rishq with a fractured rib and broken teeth, police said in a statement announcing the arrest of the two suspects, ages 17 and 18.
The two were later indicted on aggravated assault charges.
מזועזע.
חליל א-ראשק, עובד התברואה של עיריית ירושלים שספג אלימות גזענית וקיווינו כל כך לראות אותו משתקם, נורה למוות והותיר אחריו את אשתו ושתי בנותיו.
בעקבות התקיפה האכזרית שעבר בידי בני נוער רק בשל היותו ערבי, גייסנו עבורו ועבור בנותיו, אלפי אנשים, מאות אלפי שקלים כדי לעזור לו… pic.twitter.com/Du0pWXxQVv
— yayafink (יאיא פינק) (@yayafink) July 28, 2026
According to Channel 13, Rishq suffered psychologically from the attack and did not return to work afterwards. He met with Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion following the assault, the outlet added.
Jewish-Arab coexistence group Tag Meir told the outlet that Rishq was in the process of securing benefits from the National Insurance Institute, and had met with activists in the organization just a day before he was shot dead.
The Times of Israel Community.