Minister Bennett Calls to Pardon Hebron Shooter if Convicted

The far-right party leader says Elor Azaria, the Israeli soldier charged with manslaughter for shooting a Palestinian assailant who was laying on the ground, should not serve time in jail.

Gili Cohen Oct 08, 2016

Education Minister Naftali Bennett said on Saturday that if Sgt. Elor Azaria, the Israeli soldier who was charged with manslaughter for shooting a wounded Palestinian assailant, is convicted, he should be immediately pardoned.

Bennett, the leader of the far-right Habayit Hayehudi party, made his comments on the Channel 2's "Meet the Press."

The shooting incident occurred in the West Bank city of Hebron in March after a Palestinian assailant, Abdel Fattah al-Sharif, was shot and wounded and on the ground. Azaria has testified that he shot Sharif because he was concerned that the Palestinian might be wearing explosives and could detonate them.

The shooting of Sharif by Azaria, which was documented on video, was slammed by then-Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon and others, but a number of political figures, including Avigdor Lieberman, who was an opposition Knesset member then but later succeeded Ya'alon, attended a pretrial hearing for Azaria in a show of support. 

read more: http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.746528