Israel’s president pardons soldier who killed wounded Palestinian in 2016

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has expunged the criminal record of a former soldier convicted of manslaughter for killing a wounded Palestinian in Hebron a decade ago.

Herzog announced on Saturday that he had shortened the remaining erasure period on Elor Azaria’s record, effectively clearing it despite opposition from Israeli army Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Eyal Zamir.

In a letter to the defence minister, Zamir and other senior officers said Azaria “has refrained from expressing remorse and taking responsibility for his actions, even a decade after his conviction”.

The president’s office said it had taken the military’s position into account but decided the circumstances justified allowing Azaria to “open a new chapter in his life”.

Azaria, an army medic at the time, was filmed shooting Abdel Fattah al-Sharif in the head in March 2016.

Al-Sharif had stabbed and wounded a soldier but had already been shot by Israeli troops and had lain on the ground for about 11 minutes before Azaria killed him.

Azaria was convicted by a military court in 2017 and sentenced to 18 months in prison, later reduced to 14 months. He was released in May 2018 after serving nine months.

Herzog’s office said the decision followed a request from Defence Minister Israel Katz in July and was based on “the passage of time, the completion of his sentence, and the remorse he has expressed”.