Israel's President Pardons Soldier who Killed an Incapacitated Palestinian
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| The former Israeli soldier, Elor Azaria, center, in Tel Aviv, Israel, in 2017. Mr. Azaria was convicted of manslaughter for shooting an injured Palestinian man.Credit...Pool photo by Dan Balilty |
New York Times
Israel’s president on Saturday expunged the criminal record of a former soldier who fatally shot a severely wounded Palestinian assailant while he lay on the ground a decade ago, fulfilling a long-sought demand from Israel’s right.
The case of the soldier, Elor Azaria, set off intense public debate in Israel and abroad in 2016 over Israeli soldiers’ treatment of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and whether Israel would prosecute members of its own security forces accused of grave crimes.
Isaac Herzog, the Israeli president, said on Saturday that he had decided to clear Mr. Azaria’s criminal record after “examining all the circumstances of the case and the considerations related to the request,” and “after many years in which Azaria bore the consequences of his actions.”
Mr. Azaria was convicted of manslaughter for shooting the injured Palestinian man, Abdul Fattah al-Sharif, in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The episode, which was captured on video, began when Mr. al-Sharif and another man stabbed and wounded an Israeli soldier at a checkpoint. Israeli soldiers shot Mr. al-Sharif six times and killed the other attacker, and Mr. Azaria arrived at the scene about six minutes later.
After several more minutes, Mr. Azaria shot Mr. al-Sharif, 21, in the head at close range as he lay motionless on the ground — drawing fierce condemnation from the Israeli military and resulting in a trial that exposed deep divisions in Israeli society.
Against the backdrop of continued attacks by militant Palestinian fighters at the time, Mr. Azaria enjoyed considerable popular sympathy, with some right-wing Israelis hailing him as a hero. While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu initially condemned Mr. Azaria’s conduct, he later shifted his stance amid the outpouring of public support, calling for him to be pardoned.
Mr. Azaria ultimately served just nine months in prison before being released on parole. Palestinians called the sentence far too lenient, arguing that many spent longer stints in Israeli prisons for lesser crimes.
The decision to pardon Mr. Azaria came amid growing international outcry over Israel’s occupation of the West Bank. Mr. Netanyahu’s government has entrenched its grip on the territory, expanding Israeli settlements and tightening Israeli military restrictions on Palestinians there.
The pardon also fueled speculation about whether Mr. Herzog — who recently spoke out against “brutalization” creeping into Israeli society — might be considering the even more politically contentious pardon of Mr. Netanyahu on the corruption charges he faces.
Mr. Herzog said that the decision was made “in the spirit of the season of mercy” — referring to the upcoming Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur — and because of Mr. Azaria’s “desire to remove the barriers currently standing in his way where employment is concerned and open a new chapter in his life.”
It was also based, he said, on “the complex medical circumstances the Azaria family has faced” and “changes that have taken place in Elor Azaria’s life since then,” without providing further detail.
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| The mother of Abdul Fatah al-Sharif, wearing a head covering, sits on a couch holding a framed picture. His grandfather, holding a clear glass filled with a dark liquid sits nearby. Between them is an enlarged photo of a young man wearing a red shirt and broad, multicolored tie. |
The mother and grandfather of Abdul Fattah al-Sharif, in the West Bank town of Hebron in 2018.Credit...Hazem Bader/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
The pardon highlighted longstanding rifts within Israel: It resulted in intense criticism from human rights activists and some opponents of Israel’s right-wing government, but also set off celebrations from some of its most prominent leaders.
“Granting this pardon sends an important message to Israeli soldiers and their families: We do not abandon our soldiers, nor do we leave them behind,” Israel Katz, the Israeli defense minister, said in a statement.
Rights activists described the pardon as evidence of the Israeli justice system’s leniency toward Israeli soldiers accused of crimes against Palestinians. Mr. Azaria was one of only a handful of Israeli soldiers to be convicted in recent years over the wrongful death of a Palestinian.
“The Azaria case marked a watershed moment, after which Israel’s political leadership and much of the public openly embraced the rejection of accountability,” said Ziv Stahl, the director of Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights group. “The president’s decision is a clear demonstration that the Israeli justice system is neither willing nor able to enforce the law against soldiers who harm Palestinians.”
Some analysts called the pardon a potential test for Mr. Herzog, who had led an opposition party before being elected president, as he weighs a push from the right to pardon Mr. Netanyahu. Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, made that call explicit on Saturday, calling on the president to pardon the prime minister as well.
Mr. Ben-Gvir also called on the Israeli chief of staff to allow Mr. Azaria, if he wants, “to return to the ranks” of the Israeli military.
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