BICOM

In a high-profile military trial, Elor Azaria, the IDF soldier accused of unlawfully killing a wounded Palestinian assailant in the West Bank city of Hebron in March was found guilty of manslaughter.

Sgt. Elor Azaria faced manslaughter charges after he shot dead a seriously wounded Palestinian assailant, Abed al Fatah al-Sharif, who had stabbed two Israeli soldiers before being shot and incapacitated.

The incident sparked intense public debate. Azaria has been condemned by many for unnecessarily killing al-Sharif. Then-Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon condemned Azaria’s actions, calling them “in utter breach of IDF values and of our code of ethics in combat. Even when the blood boils, we must not allow such loss of reason and such loss of control”. Others have defended his actions, saying that the attacker could have remained a threat. Following the incident, the IDF reiterated its rules of engagement and code of conduct.

The judge appeared to accept the prosecution’s claims and rejected the defence’s two central arguments that the Palestinian assailant was already dead and that Azaria felt threatened, pointing out that security officials moved around the body calmly before the shooting. They also believed the testimony of one of Azaria’s friends who said that Azaria had suggested the assailant deserved to die and emphasised the need for soldiers to act judiciously when employing force.

Yesterday, IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot appeared to take aim at a public campaign to support Azaria, telling a conference: “An 18-year-old man in the Israeli army is not ‘everyone’s child’… he is a warrior, a soldier, who must dedicate his life to carry out the tasks we give him. We cannot be confused about this.” Military figures have largely condemned Azaria for breaching the IDF disciplinary code of conduct.

Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett, who like many right-wing political leaders, has consistently supported Azaria during the lengthy trial, told Army Radio: “I hope he is acquitted and if he is not acquitted, I believe he should get an immediate pardon so that he does not go to jail”.

He added: “The entire process was polluted even before it began.”

In a verdict that took more than two hours to read, Col. Maya Heller rejected the arguments raised by the defence that al-Shariff continued to pose a threat and that Azaria acted in self-defence. Sentencing is likely to take place in several weeks time. Manslaughter carries a maximum 20-year sentence, although the defence has intimated it will appeal the verdict. There is also the possibility that a presidential pardon could be requested. As the verdict was being read, hundreds demonstrated in support of Azaria in the vicinity of the courthouse.