Elor Azaria’s conviction in 2017 for manslaughter and his release drew enormous attention in Israel. (AP Photo)
Azaria was convicted in 2017 and sentenced to 18 months in prison. He was released after serving two-thirds of his sentence. However, Israel’s military chief, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, had reportedly opposed the pardon, Israeli media reported.
Azaria had shot Abdel Fattah al-Sharif in the head as he lay unarmed and badly injured on the ground in Hebron after stabbing an Israeli soldier, according to the Associated Press. In his first interview after his release, Azaria said he would act in the same way again, saying that was how he “needed to act. Herzog’s office said the president granted the pardon following a recommendation from Defence Minister Israel Katz. Katz called the pardon a “right, humane, and fitting decision” and said Azaria had been involved in a “complex operational mission”.
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog has pardoned former combat medic Elor Azaria, who was convicted of manslaughter for shooting dead a badly wounded Palestinian attacker in the occupied West Bank nearly a decade ago. The incident, captured on a cellphone video, sparked intense debate in Israel. The decision took into account the time that had passed since the incident and the approaching Yom Kippur, or Day of Atonement, among other factors.
Herzog’s office said the pardon did not amount to a reassessment of the case. The case also drew political pressure, with some supporters protesting outside the trial. Then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had called for Azaria to be pardoned after his conviction. Some Palestinians and human rights groups had criticised Azaria’s sentence as too lenient, while prosecutors had sought a longer prison term.