The Jerusalem Post

Azaria offers support to soldiers accused of beating Palestinia­ns

- • By YONAH JEREMY BOB

Elor Azaria, who served jail time for killing a downed Palestinia­n terrorist, came to the IDF Central District Court on Tuesday to support the five soldiers suspected of beating two Palestinia­n terror suspects with hard objects while the two were handcuffed and blindfolde­d.

Referring to the alleged beating, Azaria told supporters and media at the court, “not to be afraid [because] only they know what happened there. No one will judge them and no one was in their shoes.”

Also on Tuesday, one of the five soldiers was released in order to attend a family wedding in France, presumably on the basis that his role in the beatings was minimal.

It appeared the other four defendants’ detention would be extended as negotiatio­ns over a possible plea bargain had extended hours beyond what was originally scheduled.

The five soldiers, who serve in the ultra-Orthodox Netzah Yehuda Battalion, were arrested on January 10 following the incident.

The two Palestinia­ns, a father and a son, were detained on suspicion of aiding Asam Barghouti evade authoritie­s. Barghouti was the terrorist responsibl­e for the Givat Assaf West Bank outpost attack in which two IDF soldiers from the Netzah Yehuda Battalion were killed and another solider and female civilian were wounded. The two are still in custody but have not yet been charged.

Azaria was convicted for manslaught­er and sentenced to 18 months in prison, though eventually he only served half of that time, and became a lightning rod of national debate about balancing the rule of law versus keeping IDF soldiers safe from terrorists.

On Sunday, the soldiers commander, a lieutenant, was indicted for negligence and failing to prevent their actions.

Though the officer was not himself involved in beating the Palestinia­ns, he has already been suspended pending trial in an apparent move by the IDF to crack down on officers who do not restrain their soldiers.

Sunday’s indictment came after attempts to reach a plea deal with the lieutenant failed.

Last week, both the IDF prosecutio­n and the defense denied reports from Channel 12 that separate negotiatio­ns over a plea deal for the five IDF soldiers had blown up over unbridgeab­le gaps.

While Channel 12 quoted lawyers appointed by the IDF public defender to represent the five soldiers as threatenin­g to walk away from negotiatio­ns, the chief IDF public defender said negotiatio­ns would continue.

The IDF prosecutio­n has been adamant that the soldiers will need to serve some jail time, while the defense has argued that the issue should have been dealt with by disciplina­ry, not criminal charges.

The IDF Central District Court recommende­d negotiatio­ns over a deal two weeks ago, but now that the original two weeks have passed, it is unclear how long the negotiatio­ns will drag out before a trial.

 ?? (Jim Hollander/Reuters) ?? ELOR AZARIA
(Jim Hollander/Reuters) ELOR AZARIA

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