Herzog’s office confirms it received request to purge criminal record of Hebron shooter Elor Azaria

The office of President Isaac Herzog confirms that it has received a request to purge the criminal record of former soldier Elor Azaria, along with an opinion submitted by Defense Minister Israel Katz.

“Elor Azaria has submitted a request to shorten the duration of his criminal record. In accordance with standard procedure, the request was forwarded to the defense establishment in order to obtain the opinions of the relevant officials, including the defense minister and the IDF,” Herzog’s office says.

The president’s office says that, so far, it has only received Katz’s opinion. Katz said earlier that he was asking Herzog to pardon Azaria and erase his criminal record ahead of schedule.

To proceed with handling the request, the president’s office requires opinions from IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, Military Advocate General Maj. Gen. Itai Ofir, and Personnel Directorate chief Maj. Gen. Dado Bar Kalifa.

“The Office of the President is awaiting the remaining opinions required to proceed with handling the request. After receiving all opinions, the president will weigh the request responsibly and with due seriousness,” it adds.

The move by Katz comes ahead of the Likud party’s primaries and the upcoming national election. Gadi Eisenkot, whose Yashar party is a main rival to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud, was IDF chief at the time of the Hebron shooting, and backed the military’s decision to try Azaria.