Appeals court: Azaria did not shoot because he feared attack

30 July 2017, 2:09 pm

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The military appeals court in the Azaria trial appears to be siding with the Jaffa Military Court in the case, saying explicitly in its ruling, which is being read at this moment in the courtroom at IDF Military Headquarters in the Kirya complex in Tel Aviv, that “Azaria’s shooting [of the Palestinian assailant Abdel Fattah al-Sharif] was not motivated by fear of the terrorist’s future action.”

The statement appears to reject the fundamental argument of Azaria’s defense throughout the judicial process since the March 2016 shooting: that he feared the incapacitated assailant could still have caused harm and may have been wearing a bomb.