Family appeals closure of investigation into fatal police shooting of Khaled Hassan Qara’an after his body was withheld for 8 months
On 30 July 2026, Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel appealed to the State Attorney’s Office against the decision to close an investigation into the fatal shooting of Khaled Hassan Qara’an and another man who was working with him. The appeal was filed on behalf of Qara’an’s widow, Sarah Hassan, by Adalah Attorney Hadeel Abu Salih.
On the night of 15–16 September 2025, Khaled Hassan Qara’an, a 34-year-old Palestinian resident of Israel, furniture dealer, and father of three from Jaljulia, was working in the West Bank city of Qalqilya delivering furniture. According to testimonies from eye witnesses, and a video published by the police unit, officers from the Gideonim 33 Israel Police unit, opened fire, killing Khaled and another man while they were inside a truck. The testimonies further indicate that, after opening fire, the officers provided no medical assistance and failed to call medical teams to the scene. Instead, the bodies of the two men were taken to a detention facility and left in a holding cell alongside two living detainees until the following afternoon. The two living detainees were released a day later.
Qara’an’s family learned of his death only through reports on social media the following day, as the Israeli authorities provided no notification or information regarding his status or whereabouts. The family, through Adalah, immediately petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court to locate his body, order an autopsy to determine the cause of death, and secure the release of his body for burial.
On 5 May 2026—nearly eight months after the shooting, during which time the state withheld Khaled’s body and prevented his burial—the state filed its preliminary response to the Supreme Court, revealing that the Justice Ministry’s Police Investigations Department (PID or “Mahash”) had already closed the case, on 29 April 2026, after finding “no basis indicating a reasonable suspicion of a criminal offense.” During the proceedings, the state acknowledged that Qara’an had been shot and killed “by mistake” while standing behind the intended target of arrest, while maintaining that the officers had acted lawfully. His body was released for burial shortly after the hearing.
As noted in the appeal, video footage of the incident circulating online indicates that the armed forces were instructed to open fire on all three occupants of the truck immediately upon arriving at the scene. In the footage published online the following day, a member of the security forces is heard stating, “He’s inside the truck, confirm.” An officer replies, “I confirm. Am I authorized?” The first voice responds, “Affirmative. Authorized. All three are inside the truck.” Moments later, officers open fire on the vehicle. Shortly after, an officer reports, “The object is neutralized.”
Despite this evidence, the PID closed the investigation without examining whether the decision to use lethal force was lawful, necessary, or proportionate. In its appeal, Adalah argued that “the decision contains no reference to whether the arrest could have been carried out through less harmful means; whether alternatives were exhausted before resorting to lethal fire; whether a warning was issued before opening fire; whether warning shots were fired; or whether efforts were made to minimize harm to the minimum necessary.”
The appeal further asserts that the Israeli authorities systematically disregarded due process by refusing the family’s requests to access the investigation file and by failing to conduct an autopsy, despite repeated requests throughout the eight months during which the state held his body.
Adalah also challenged the PID’s assertion that the Gideonim unit had “acted under real-time risk,” noting that it offered no evidence, factual details, or explanation of the nature of the alleged threat. Closing the investigation without addressing these gaps amounted to an uncritical acceptance of the officers’ account, without examining whether the use of lethal force was lawful, argued Adalah.
In light of these findings, the family is demanding that the State Attorney’s Office grant them immediate access to the investigation file, reopen the investigation into the killings, and hold the perpetrators to account.
