Bennett hopes IDF soldier will be let off in manslaughter case

Education Minister Naftali Bennett expressed hope Tuesday that a military court would acquit IDF soldier Sergeant Elor Azaria, accused of shooting a disarmed Palestinian stabber in the West Bank city of Hebron last year.

The verdict in the Azaria case is expected Wednesday.

“I hope he is acquitted,” Bennett told Army Radio. “If he isn’t acquitted, I believe he should be pardoned right away and shouldn’t sit in prison.”

Azaria, 19, was filmed on March 24, 2016, shooting Palestinian assailant Abed al-Fattah Yusri al-Sharif in the head, nearly 15 minutes after al-Sharif had been shot and wounded during an attempt to stab an IDF soldier in Hebron. Azaria was indicted for manslaughter on April 18 by the Jaffa Military Court.

In November military prosecutors demanded prison time for Azaria, with prosecutor Nadav Weissman saying the “fundamental principles” of the Israeli army were on trial.

Weissman said at the time that if Azaria escapes conviction it would create a dangerous precedent he dubbed “Azaria’s Law.”

He did not ask for a specific length of sentence.

The shooting and subsequent trial have deeply divided Israel.

In the face of strong condemnation of Azaria’s actions by top military brass including IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot and then-defense minister Moshe Ya’alon, far-right supporters and some politicians have accused the defense establishment of abandoning one of its own.

Speaking at a conference at Herzliya’s Interdisciplinary Center, Tuesday, Eisenkot said the country has to be clear about its priorities in the Azaria case.

“The confusion in the discourse of Israeli society is a discourse which harms the most fundamental principles that we ask from our soldiers,” he said, adding that “the open-fire orders have not changed in a decade.”

AFP contributed to this report.