Soldier jailed for killing Palestinian
AN ISRAELI soldier has been sentenced to 18 months in jail for killing a wounded Palestinian as he lay immobilised on the ground having already been shot after he attacked and wounded another soldier with a knife.
Abdel Fattah Al Sharif, 21, was shot in Hebron, in the southern Israeli-occupied West Bank in March last year.
A video taken of the incident shows Al Sharif lying severely wounded on the ground with Israeli soldiers, including several officers, milling around him.
Ten minutes after the initial shooting, Israeli soldier Elor Azaria is heard shouting that the “terrorist dog is still alive”. Azaria then moves forward and shoots Al Sharif in the head killing him.
Israeli daily Haaretz reported that many Israelis were angered that Azaria was even brought to trial and protests erupted outside the court on Tuesday after he was sentenced.
Several members of Israel’s rightwing government called for him to be pardoned completely.
With good behaviour his sentence could be reduced by a third despite the Israeli military prosecution originally demanding a sentence of three to five years.
The family of Al Sharif pointed out that Azaria received a lighter sentence than Palestinian children get for throwing stones.
In September 2015, Israel’s security cabinet set a four-year minimum sentence for stone and fire-bomb throwers. This is not the first time Israeli security forces have been accused of using excessive force, and killing Palestinians unnecessarily. ANA