Israeli soldier guilty of killing Palestinian
AN Israeli soldier who shot a wounded Palestinian assailant dead as he lay on the ground posing no apparent threat was convicted of manslaughter yesterday after a trial that deeply divided the country.
The soldier, Elor Azaria, had been on trial in a military court since May, with right-wing politicians defending him despite army top brass condemning his actions.
Sentencing is expected at a later date. He faces up to 20 years in jail. Judge Colonel Maya Heller spent more than 2½ hours reading out the decision, sharply criticising the arguments of Azaria’s lawyers.
On behalf of the three-judge panel, Heller said there was no reason for Azaria to open fire since the Palestinian was posing no threat.
She called Azaria’s testimony evolving and evasive.
Azaria’s demeanour changed drastically as she read the verdict.
Dressed in a khaki army uniform, he had entered the courtroom smiling, with relatives and supporters applauding him.
But he and his family looked shaken as the judge spoke, with his mother and father huddling together.
After the verdict, his mother yelled at the judges: “You should be ashamed of yourselves.”
Azaria was 19 at the time of the killing in March last year in Hebron in the occupied West Bank.
In a sign of the tensions surrounding the case, dozens of protesters scuffled with police yesterday as they gathered outside Israel’s military headquarters in Tel Aviv, where the verdict was announced.
They held a sign reading: “People of Israel do not abandon a soldier in the battlefield.”
The shooting set off intense political debate, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu having earlier called Azaria’s father to express his sympathy.
Others on the right have called for him to be pardoned in an extraordinary public rift between politicians and the country’s military.
Before he became Israeli defence minister in May, Avigdor Lieberman was among those showing strong support for Azaria, including attending one of his court appearances.
He has since backed away from his earlier stance and, immediately after yesterday’s verdict, said he disagreed with the decision but that it must be respected.
“I call on politicians to stop attacking the security establishment and the army and its chief of staff,” he said. – AFP