Israeli President Isaac Herzog has expunged the criminal record of Elor Azaria, the former combat medic convicted of manslaughter for the 2016 killing of a wounded Palestinian attacker in Hebron. The pardon came despite objections from IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, who cited Azaria's lack of remorse. Defense Minister Israel Katz, who recommended the pardon, said it sends a message that "we do not abandon our fighters." Herzog's office cited the time passed and Azaria's expressed regret as reasons for the decision.


Israel's President Herzog pardons Elor Azaria, clearing record despite IDF opposition

An Israeli soldier sentenced to 18 months in prison for shooting dead a wounded Palestinian assailant appealed against his manslaughter conviction and jail term on Wednesday, his legal team said.

Elor Azaria was sentenced by a military court on February 21 after an exceptional months-long trial that captivated Israel and highlighted deep divisions in public opinion.

Azaria was caught on video by a rights group shooting Abdul Fatah al-Sharif in the head as he lay wounded on the ground in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron in March 2016 after stabbing a soldier.

Defence attorney Yoram Sheftel filed the appeal to the military court, a spokesman for the lawyer told AFP.

An army spokeswoman later said the court would hold a hearing on Thursday to rule on a defence request for Azaria&#39;s sentence, due to start on March 5, to be delayed.

The outspoken Sheftel, who joined Azaria&#39;s defence team in January, won his fame successfully representing Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk in the appeal against his death sentence in Israeli in 1993.

Speaking to the press hours after filing the appeal, Sheftel lashed out at the &quot;bloodthirsty&quot; military prosecutors, accusing them of rejecting offers of mediation and calling Azaria the &quot;victim&quot; of the &quot;shameful investigation&quot;.

Azaria&#39;s father Charlie thanked &quot;all of our supporters, who are 90 percent of the nation&quot;, saying his son had been framed and vowing to fight to the end &quot;until my son&#39;s innocence is revealed&quot;.

Three other lawyers, who had represented Azaria from the initial stages of his arrest, announced earlier on Wednesday they were resigning from the case.

One of them, Eyal Besserglick, told AFP they had prepared part of the appeal, which related to both the conviction and the sentencing.

In a statement, the resigning lawyers said they believed avenues other than an appeal would be preferable to Azaria.

A number of ministers, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have called for him to be pardoned, a process under the jurisdiction of President Reuven Rivlin.

Azaria could also have his sentence commuted to a conditional sentence by the head of the central military command.

Military leaders have said the conviction is important for the institution&#39;s reputation.

The Palestinian government, the victim&#39;s family and the United Nations human rights office have criticised the sentence as too lenient.

(AFP)

Elor Azaria was sentenced by a military court to 18 months in prison on Feb 21 after an exceptional months-long trial

An Israeli soldier sentenced to 18 months in prison for shooting dead a wounded Palestinian assailant appealed against his manslaughter conviction and jail term on Wednesday, his legal team said. Elor Azaria was sentenced by a military court on February 21 after an exceptional months-long trial that captivated Israel and highlighted deep divisions in public opinion. Azaria was caught on video by a rights group shooting Abdul Fatah al-Sharif in the head as he lay wounded on the ground in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron in March 2016 after stabbing a soldier. Defence attorney Yoram Sheftel filed the appeal to the military court, a spokesman for the lawyer told AFP. An army spokeswoman later said the court would hold a hearing on Thursday to rule on a defence request for Azaria's sentence, due to start on March 5, to be delayed. The outspoken Sheftel, who joined Azaria's defence team in January, won his fame successfully representing Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk in the appeal against his death sentence in Israeli in 1993. Speaking to the press hours after filing the appeal, Sheftel lashed out at the "bloodthirsty" military prosecutors, accusing them of rejecting offers of mediation and calling Azaria the "victim" of the "shameful investigation". Azaria's father Charlie thanked "all of our supporters, who are 90 percent of the nation", saying his son had been framed and vowing to fight to the end "until my son's innocence is revealed". Three other lawyers, who had represented Azaria from the initial stages of his arrest, announced earlier on Wednesday they were resigning from the case. One of them, Eyal Besserglick, told AFP they had prepared part of the appeal, which related to both the conviction and the sentencing. In a statement, the resigning lawyers said they believed avenues other than an appeal would be preferable to Azaria. A number of ministers, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have called for him to be pardoned, a process under the jurisdiction of President Reuven Rivlin. Azaria could also have his sentence commuted to a conditional sentence by the head of the central military command. Military leaders have said the conviction is important for the institution's reputation. The Palestinian government, the victim's family and the United Nations human rights office have criticised the sentence as too lenient. (AFP)

Israeli soldier who killed wounded Palestinian attacker appeals conviction

An Israeli soldier who shot dead a wounded Palestinian assailant as he lay on the ground posing no apparent threat was convicted of manslaughter Wednesday after a trial that deeply divided the country.

The soldier, Elor Azaria, had been on trial in a military court since May, with right-wing politicians defending him despite top army brass harshly condemning his actions.

Sentencing is expected at a later date. He faces up to 20 years in prison.

Judge Colonel Maya Heller spent more than two and a half hours reading out the decision, sharply criticising the arguments of Azaria&#39;s lawyers.

On behalf of the three-judge panel, Heller said there was no reason for Azaria to open fire since the Palestinian was posing no threat. She called Azaria&#39;s testimony &quot;evolving and evasive&quot;.

Azaria&#39;s demeanour drastically changed as the judge read the verdict. Dressed in a green army uniform, he had entered the courtroom smiling, with family members and supporters applauding him. But he and his family later looked shaken as the judge spoke, with his mother and father huddling together.

After the verdict, his mother yelled: &quot;You should be ashamed of yourselves&quot;. Azaria was 19 at the time of the killing in March 2016 in the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank.

&nbsp;

Protests outside

In a sign of the tensions surrounding the case, dozens of protesters scuffled with police Wednesday as they gathered outside Israel&#39;s military headquarters in Tel Aviv, where the verdict was announced.

They held a sign that read: &quot;People of Israel do not abandon a soldier in the battlefield&quot;.

The shooting set off intense political debate, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu having earlier called Azaria&#39;s father to express his sympathy.

Others on the right have called for him to be pardoned in an extraordinary public rift between politicians and the country&#39;s military.

Before he became Israeli defence minister in May, Avigdor Lieberman was among those showing strong support for Azaria, including attending one of his court appearances.

He has since backed away from his earlier stance and, immediately after Wednesday&#39;s verdict, said he disagreed with the decision but that it must be respected.

&quot;I call on politicians to stop attacking the security establishment and the army and its chief of staff,&quot; he said.

Others however from what is seen as the most right-wing government in Israeli history maintained their hardline position.

&quot;He&#39;s our son, our child,&quot; Culture Minister Miri Regev told Israeli television, saying Azaria should not have faced a criminal trial. The case burst into public view when a video of the March 24 shooting emerged and spread widely online.

The video showed Abdul Fatah al-Sharif, 21, lying on the ground, shot along with another man after stabbing and moderately wounding a soldier minutes earlier, according to the army. Azaria then shoots him again in the head without any apparent provocation.

His lawyers argued the soldier may have thought the Palestinian was wearing explosives, but others said he had already been checked for a suicide belt and no one in the video appears to be acting with caution toward him.

&nbsp;

Polarised public

Military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot has spoken out against the politicisation of the case, warning it could badly harm the army. He said rules on when to open fire must be followed.

The case galvanised the Israeli public, and television and radio stations interrupted their broadcasts to carry live coverage of the verdict. It had been portrayed by some as a test of whether Israel&#39;s military could prosecute one of its own, though many Palestinians dismissed it, arguing Azaria was only taken to trial because of the video.

The military has said it began investigating before the release of the video, filmed by a Palestinian volunteer for Israeli rights group B&#39;Tselem. The shooting came against the backdrop of a wave of Palestinian knife, gun and car-ramming attacks that erupted in October 2015.

Israeli security forces have been accused of excessive force in certain other cases as well, though authorities say officers act appropriately to protect themselves and civilians.

Most of the attacks were by lone-wolf assailants, many of them young people, including teenagers. Israel&#39;s military has said it believes a significant number of them were essentially on suicide missions.

The violence has greatly subsided in recent months.

(AFP)

Judge Colonel Maya Heller said there was no reason for Elor Azaria to open fire since the Palestinian posed no threat

An Israeli soldier who shot dead a wounded Palestinian assailant as he lay on the ground posing no apparent threat was convicted of manslaughter Wednesday after a trial that deeply divided the country. The soldier, Elor Azaria, had been on trial in a military court since May, with right-wing politicians defending him despite top army brass harshly condemning his actions. Sentencing is expected at a later date. He faces up to 20 years in prison. Judge Colonel Maya Heller spent more than two and a half hours reading out the decision, sharply criticising the arguments of Azaria's lawyers. On behalf of the three-judge panel, Heller said there was no reason for Azaria to open fire since the Palestinian was posing no threat. She called Azaria's testimony "evolving and evasive". Azaria's demeanour drastically changed as the judge read the verdict. Dressed in a green army uniform, he had entered the courtroom smiling, with family members and supporters applauding him. But he and his family later looked shaken as the judge spoke, with his mother and father huddling together. After the verdict, his mother yelled: "You should be ashamed of yourselves". Azaria was 19 at the time of the killing in March 2016 in the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank. Protests outside In a sign of the tensions surrounding the case, dozens of protesters scuffled with police Wednesday as they gathered outside Israel's military headquarters in Tel Aviv, where the verdict was announced. They held a sign that read: "People of Israel do not abandon a soldier in the battlefield". The shooting set off intense political debate, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu having earlier called Azaria's father to express his sympathy. Others on the right have called for him to be pardoned in an extraordinary public rift between politicians and the country's military. Before he became Israeli defence minister in May, Avigdor Lieberman was among those showing strong support for Azaria, including attending one of his court appearances. He has since backed away from his earlier stance and, immediately after Wednesday's verdict, said he disagreed with the decision but that it must be respected. "I call on politicians to stop attacking the security establishment and the army and its chief of staff," he said. Others however from what is seen as the most right-wing government in Israeli history maintained their hardline position. "He's our son, our child," Culture Minister Miri Regev told Israeli television, saying Azaria should not have faced a criminal trial. The case burst into public view when a video of the March 24 shooting emerged and spread widely online. The video showed Abdul Fatah al-Sharif, 21, lying on the ground, shot along with another man after stabbing and moderately wounding a soldier minutes earlier, according to the army. Azaria then shoots him again in the head without any apparent provocation. His lawyers argued the soldier may have thought the Palestinian was wearing explosives, but others said he had already been checked for a suicide belt and no one in the video appears to be acting with caution toward him. Polarised public Military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot has spoken out against the politicisation of the case, warning it could badly harm the army. He said rules on when to open fire must be followed. The case galvanised the Israeli public, and television and radio stations interrupted their broadcasts to carry live coverage of the verdict. It had been portrayed by some as a test of whether Israel's military could prosecute one of its own, though many Palestinians dismissed it, arguing Azaria was only taken to trial because of the video. The military has said it began investigating before the release of the video, filmed by a Palestinian volunteer for Israeli rights group B'Tselem. The shooting came against the backdrop of a wave of Palestinian knife, gun and car-ramming attacks that erupted in October 2015. Israeli security forces have been accused of excessive force in certain other cases as well, though authorities say officers act appropriately to protect themselves and civilians. Most of the attacks were by lone-wolf assailants, many of them young people, including teenagers. Israel's military has said it believes a significant number of them were essentially on suicide missions. The violence has greatly subsided in recent months. (AFP)

Israeli soldier convicted of manslaughter for shooting Palestinian

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Israel's President Herzog pardons Elor Azaria, clearing record despite IDF opposition

Israeli soldier who killed wounded Palestinian attacker appeals conviction

Israeli soldier convicted of manslaughter for shooting Palestinian