Relatives named the late Eyad Rawhi Al-Halaq, 32, from the Wadi Al-Joz area of Jerusalem.
They told CNN that he was autistic and had the mental age of a six-year-old child and that he was on his way to his special school for children when the fatal incident took place.
An Israeli police statement said on Saturday morning: "In the Old City of Jerusalem, in the Lions Gate neighborhood, police units on patrol located a suspect with a suspicious object that looked like a pistol. called to stop and started chasing him on foot. During the course of the pursuit, officers also opened fire on the suspect, who was neutralized. "
A police spokesman later confirmed to CNN that police officers who had checked the man's body had found no weapons on him.
A relative of the deceased told CNN: "He appears to have been asked to stop by the police and was afraid of the armed officers and has run away." Eyewitnesses saw him hiding behind a garbage container before being shot several times, said the parent.
Ayman Odeh, leader of the Common Arab List alliance, which has 15 legislators in the Israeli parliament, said he feared that any police investigation would lead to a cover-up.
"We have to ... make sure the police are put in prison and at the same time remember that while they pulled the trigger, the occupation loaded the gun," Odeh said in a statement.
The shooting comes as tensions mount in the region before a possible Israeli annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promises to advance plans to enforce Israeli sovereignty over parts of the territory from July 1, in accordance with US President Donald Trump's plan for peace in the Middle East, which provides that Israel will annex all Jewish settlements, in addition to Jordan Valley.
The Israeli army said on Friday it opened fire on a man who had driven his car in a group of soldiers near the settlement of Halamish, north of the West Bank city of Ramallah.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said that Fadi Adnan Aqed, 37, from the nearby Palestinian village of Abu Qash, was killed in the incident.
The Israeli army claims that no soldiers were injured.
Earlier in the week, the US State Department issued a security alert, warning US citizens visiting the West Bank that "violence can occur with little or no warning, targeting tourist spots, plaques transportation hubs, government checkpoints, markets and malls or government facilities. "
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