Fatality in Border Police shooting last week was attacked last year by Jewish extremists

A Palestinian man shot and killed at a checkpoint by security forces last week was a Jerusalem municipality sanitation worker who, months prior, was attacked by a pair of Jewish teenagers while sweeping a sidewalk in the city.

The slain man, identified by Hebrew outlets as 50-year-old Khalil a-Rishq, was shot in the leg by a Border Police officer and private security guard at the Shuafat checkpoint on Thursday at around 11 p.m.

The Department of Internal Police Investigations is currently probing the lethal incident, a spokesman tells The Times of Israel.

According to the agency, Rishq approached a checkpoint meant for vehicles on foot and was ordered to stop by forces in the area. When he did not heed their calls to halt, the Border Police officer and security guard shot at his legs.

Rishq bled to death at the checkpoint, according to the agency. It is unclear how long it took for medics to arrive after he was shot.

Police addressed the incident in a brief statement Thursday, saying that “an arrest procedure was carried out in which the suspect [Rishq] was shot in the leg. There are no injuries to our forces.”

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

In December, Rishq was assailed by two Jewish teenagers in a filmed attack in Jerusalem’s Ramot neighborhood, 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.

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 adds.

Jewish-Arab coexistence group Tag Meir tells 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.

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