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Brigade commander testifies against soldier accused in Hebron shooting
The most senior officer yet has given evidence in the military trial of the soldier who is accused of unlawfully killing a wounded Palestinian terrorist in the West Bank city of Hebron.
Col. Yariv Ben-Ezra, the outgoing commander of the Hebron Brigade, testified at the military tribunal in Jaffa yesterday, at the trial of Elor Azaria. He recounted the chain of reporting in the immediate aftermath of the shooting and recalled that the security officer from the Jewish community of Hebron told him that “there was a problematic shooting incident that I should look into”. When Ben-Ezra immediately asked for a report from the battalion commander, “a minute and a half later, he came back and told me this was a very serious incident”.
Ben-Ezra said that nobody mentioned the fear of explosives following the incident and that “considering the behaviour of the people on the scene, the discourse and the investigations we conducted”. He concluded: “The shooting was unjustified because it happened in a situation in which there was no mortal danger.”
Azaria’s trial has brought with it emotive exchanges. After giving evidence against Azaria last month, Company Commander Maj. Tom Naaman was branded a “traitor” by some on social media. Earlier this week, in an outburst in court, Azaria’s father said: “You’re trying everything to frame him… I trust the legal system and ask for a fair trial, but I don’t feel this is a fair trial. Somebody is pulling the strings.”
During the incident in March, the assailant stabbed two Israeli soldiers before being shot and incapacitated. Video footage from the Israeli human rights group B’tselem shows Azaria several minutes later opening fire and killing the wounded Palestinian. The incident sparked intense public debate. Azaria has been condemned by many for unnecessarily killing the terrorist. However, others have defended his actions, saying that the attacker could have been armed with explosives. Meanwhile, the IDF reiterated its rules of engagement and code of conduct in the wake of the incident.