TEL AVIV, Israel — An Israeli military court on Tuesday sentenced a soldier to 18 months in prison for his deadly shooting of a Palestinian attacker who lay wounded on the ground, capping a nearly yearlong saga that has deeply divided the country.
The sentence, which included a year’s probation and a demotion in rank, was lighter than expected — prosecutors had asked for a prison term of three to five years.
Yet it still triggered disappointment from protesters who had gathered outside the Tel Aviv court and had hoped to see the soldier walk free. Politicians immediately called for Sgt. Elor Azaria to be pardoned.
Azaria was convicted of manslaughter last month in a rare case of a military court ruling against a combat soldier for lethal action taken in the field.
The verdict marked a victory for commanders who said Azaria had violated the army’s code of ethics. But the soldier himself generated great support among the public, many of whom see him as a scapegoat for a misguided elite that has sought to harshly punish a soldier who they say responded to an armed attacker trying to kill other soldiers.
Azaria, an army medic, was caught on a cellphone video in March fatally shooting the wounded Palestinian, just after the man stabbed a soldier in the West Bank city of Hebron. The Palestinian, Abdel Fattah al-Sharif, was lying on the ground and already unarmed when Azaria shot him in the head.
The shooting occurred at the height of what has become more than a yearlong wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence.
Azaria’s defenders said he shot the assailant in self-defense, and hard-line politicians have said he should be either cleared or released with a light penalty. But his detractors, including senior military commanders, have said his actions violated military procedures.
The uproar has put the army in a delicate position.
Military service is compulsory for Israel’s Jewish majority, and there is widespread sympathy for soldiers, since virtually every family has a member who is serving or has served in the past.
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Netanyahu calls for pardon of convicted Israeli soldier 0:0 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday called for a… Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who initially defended the military, later softened his position and called Azaria’s parents to console them. After the verdict last month, he called for Azaria to be pardoned.
The dispute helped fuel the resignation of Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, a former military chief who sided with the army. His successor, Avigdor Lieberman, visited Azaria in court, before taking up the defense post. Lieberman has since toned down his support and said the country must accept the court’s ruling.
Dozens of the soldier’s supporters outside the court chanted words of encouragement and waved banners reading: “Death to terrorists.”
The 20-year-old Azaria entered the court smiling and was greeted by applause from friends and relatives. He then had a long embrace with his mother and other family members.
Last month’s verdict was accompanied by angry outbursts in the courtroom and protests outside that briefly blocked streets. But Azaria’s father, Charlie, took a more calming approach on Tuesday, asking supporters ahead of the sentencing not to disrupt the proceedings.
“None of us have any expectations, we shall accept the sentence whatever it may be,” he said.
Col. Maya Heller, head of the three-judge panel, noted as mitigating factors in Azaria’s sentencing that the incident took place “in hostile territory” and it was Azaria’s first real operational experience.
“We took note of the harm suffered by his family,” she said.
However, she said Azaria had not expressed remorse for his actions and ruled that he did not open fire out of danger — but rather to harm the assailant.
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