Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu called on Wednesday for a pardon for Sgt. Elor Azaria, who was convicted earlier in the day of manslaughter in the shooting death of a wounded Palestinian assailant.
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A soldier who killed a wounded Palestinian attacker last March has been found guilty of manslaughter.
Certain politicians “saw an opportunity, made a decision to declare the soldier a hero and started spreading rumors against the prime minister, against me and against the IDF”, Ya’alon said, during an gathering of high school seniors, pointing to the initial upheaval after the event.
“An 18-year-old man in the Israeli army is not ‘everyone’s child, ‘” Eisenkot said.
She called Mr Azaria’s testimony “evolving and evasive”.
“One can not use this type of force, even if we’re talking about an enemy’s life”, the Tel Aviv military court said in its verdict.
In the West Bank city of Hebron on 24 March this year al-Sharif and another Palestinian assailant Ramzi Aziz al-Qasrawi stabbed an Israeli soldier before the pair were shot by troops.
The Israeli military did not respond to requests for comment.
Al-Sharif gathered with his family in his home to watch the verdict being read live on Israeli television. But the video shows Sharif moving slightly, twitching his head and hand. Azaria said he feared a-Sharif was trying to grab a knife or detonate a bomb belt, so he was justified in shooting him. Justices said there was “no basis” Azaria’s argument that he acted in self-defense.”There was no immediate danger when the terrorist laid on the floor”, said Colonel Maya Heller, the lead justice on the case.
The shooting occurred at the height of what has become more than a yearlong wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence. Many Israelis view the ruling, and the trial itself, as unfair.
Israeli social media has been in an uproar over the Azaria case for months.
Much of the protesters’ anger was aimed at Israel defence forces chief of staff Lt Gen Gadi Eizenkot, who had repeatedly criticised Azaria’s actions. He later resigned, partly because of the affair.
Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli defence minister, also said he disagreed with the “difficult” verdict and would do anything he could to assist Sgt Azaria and his family.
In the video, a combat medic, later identified as Elor Azaria, raises and aims his rifle, then a shot is heard. There is also deep sympathy for soldiers in Israel, where military service is compulsory for Israel’s Jewish majority.
Netanyahu had called to console Azaria’s father Charlie during his son’s trial, telling the senior Azaria “I understand your pain”.
“I was exhausted and tense”, he said.
The big difference between Israel and most other democratic countries is that in Israel, military service is mandatory and there’s no civil service alternative. Some 20 witnesses, several of them fellow soldiers, testified on behalf of the prosecution.
The incident has raised questions over rules of engagement toward perceived threats by Palestinians, with the Israeli public, politicians and army leaders weighing in on both sides over the soldier’s actions. “We can not be confused about this”.
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“Today, with the conviction, we can say that the IDF and the Azaria family were seriously harmed by politicians who have betrayed their office”, Ya’alon said.
