Israeli Soldier Found Guilty in Killing That Divided Country
- Judges: Teen acted out of vengeance, not fear of more attacks
- Netanyahu declares support for pardoning convicted soldier
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An Israeli military court convicted a soldier of manslaughter for killing a wounded and immobilized Palestinian assailant, after a months-long trial that generated anguished national debate over ethics in the military.
Sergeant Elor Azaria “needlessly” shot Abed al-Fatah al-Sharif in the West Bank city of Hebron last March because he believed he should die after attacking Israeli soldiers, according to a three-judge military panel in Israel Defense Forces headquarters in Tel Aviv. The judges rejected the idea that Azaria thought the man was wearing a bomb belt or might grab the knife he had just used to stab soldiers, which was still lying nearby.