Family exhumes body of slain Jerusalem man

Ma'an - At the request of the Al-Julani family, the body of the man shot dead in Jerusalem last week was exhumed just after midnight on Thursday morning for autopsy.

The body of the 38-year-old Zaid was taken from its place of internment at the Al-Asbat Gate cemetery near Al-Aqsa Mosque under the watch of doctors from the Abu Kabir Institute for forensic medicine and clerks from Israel's Magistrates Court and Ministry of Justice, and moved to a secure autopsy facility in Jerusalem.

Ziad was shot dead by Israeli forces on 11 June, with eyewitness accounts differing widely from military statements on the incident.

According to Israeli forces, Ziad was shot and killed after he allegedly failed to stop at a flying checkpoint in the Wadi Joz neighborhood. Military presence was heavy in East Jerusalem that day, with Al-Aqsa Mosque entry prohibited for men under 45. The Israeli report said that when he was shot, Ziad was on foot, fleeing after he had tried to run over four checkpoint officers.

According to testimony compiled by the Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights, however, an initial shot knocked Al-Julani to the ground, after which Israeli Special Forces "fired shots in the face and abdomen at close range."

An autopsy will be conducted to confirm the cause of death.