Hebron shooter’s bid to consider similar incidents blocked by court

The IDF Court of Appeals largely refuses a request by the attorneys of Sgt. Elor Azaria, the so-called Hebron shooter, to allow the admission of evidence from other cases of security personnel who killed people against orders or protocol but were not tried.

The judges reject 16 of the 17 cases the defense wanted to include in the appeal, allowing only a case in which a volunteer police officer shot dead a Palestinian terrorist after a stabbing attack in Jaffa last year.

Defense attorney Yoram Sheftel argues the entire case was tainted by comments made by then-defense minister Moshe Ya’alon and IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkott against Azaria immediately after the incident.

He cites previous cases where judges have acknowledged the influence of media coverage and statements by politicians on legal proceedings.

Sheftel also points to the promotion of Azaria’s company commander — who provided damning testimony — before his appearance in court in his argument that the army attempted to influence the outcome of the trial.

The company commander testified that after the incident Azaria told him he killed the Palestinian assailant because he deserved to die. Part of Sheftel’s appeal is that Azaria never said that.

He further says showing the “enemy’s” video of the incident, by which he means the left-wing B’tselem organization, to soldiers before they gave their testimony to military police “also influences” the outcome.

— Judah Ari Gross