An Israeli military tribunal on Tuesday sentenced a soldier to 18 months in jail for fatally shooting a Palestinian knife assailant lying wounded on the ground in the West Bank city of Hebron last March.
The decision comes a month and a half after the military court unanimously convicted Sgt. Elor Azaria, of manslaughter, ruling he had violated military’s open-fire regulations when he shot the attacker, Abdel Fattah al-Sharif, in the head after he was lying wounded on the ground and no longer a threat.
The politically charged case roiled Israel’s government, drove a rare wedge between Israeli public opinion — which is broadly sympathetic to Azaria — and the Israel Defense Forces top brass, and spurred international criticism of Israel. After the ruling, ministers in Israel’s government called for Azaria to be pardoned.
The sentence handed down Tuesday was substantially shorter than the jail term of three to five years requested by the military prosecution. The court also demoted Azaria to the rank of private.
The sentencing proceeding was held in a court room inside Israel’s main military headquarters in Tel Aviv. After chief judge Col. Maya Heller finished reading the sentence, Azaria’s family and supporters applauded and sang the Israeli national anthem.
“You’re a hero!’ shouted Azaria’s father, Charlie. He embraced his son as the soldier cracked a smile. Azaria’s lawyers said they plan to appeal the manslaughter verdict.
Relatives of Sharif said they were disappointed that the prison term wasn’t longer.
“My family rejects this. This verdict is wrong,’’ said Fathi al Sharif, an uncle. “The judge made a mistake when she gave the soldiers only year and a half in prison. Other people who do the same thing get 20 years in jail.”
When Azaria was convicted, the court ruled that Azaria acted because he believed Sharif deserved to die, and the court rejected Azaria’s claim that he believed the assailant was about to carry out an attack.
In a video taken by a Palestinian bystander and published by the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, Azaria, a combat medic, was shown cocking an M-16, walking deliberately over in the direction of Sharif before opening fire. The shooting took place a few minutes after Sharif and a second Palestinian had attacked soldiers with knives.
Outside of the Israeli military base during the sentencing, several hundred supporters chanted “Death to Terrorists” and called on the army to release Azaria.
“It’s a disgrace to the country,’’ said Yael David, a 23-year-old social work student. “He killed a terrorist. He didn’t kill someone who was innocent. [Azaria] should be completely exonerated.’’
Mitnick is a special correspondent.
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UPDATES:
8:45 a.m.: This article was updated throughout with Times reporting.
4:40 a.m.: This article was updated with additional background.
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