At last appeal hearing, Azaria prosecutor refuses mediation: ‘We haven’t heard regret’

Army prosecutors reject mediation in the final appeal hearing of the Elor Azaria trial, which is taking place today at a military court in IDF headquarters in the Kirya complex in Tel Aviv.

Azaria, an IDF sergeant convicted in the shooting death of a Palestinian assailant in Hebron last year, faces 1.5 years in jail for the shooting, which followed the Palestinian’s stabbing of another IDF soldier.

Both the prosecution and the defense are appealing the verdict.

At the Sunday hearing, Judge Zvi Segal turns to the sides and urges them to “rise above” the enmity heard in the course of the contentious trial. Azaria’s attorney Yoram Sheftel takes the cue and suggest a two-week mediation process. But the prosecution refuses.

Lt. Col. (res.) Nadav Weissman, the lead prosecutor, explains: “We haven’t heard any regret. It’s important that the court rule in this case, on the facts, and on the ethical norms” expected by IDF soldiers.

The judges instruct Weissman to take the suggestion to his boss, the military advocate general Brig.-Gen. Sharon Afek, and to give the court an answer within a week.