IDF chief promises ‘serious’ consideration of Azaria pardon request

The IDF chief of staff says he would “seriously” consider easing the 18-month prison sentence upheld today in the case of Elor Azaria.

In a statement, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot says the court made its decision “loud and clear” and had reached its verdict after a “moral, professional and impartial [legal] process.”

The court ruled to uphold the district-level court’s initial ruling of a manslaughter conviction and an 18-month prison sentence for Azaria, who in March 2016 shot dead an incapacitated Palestinian assailant who had stabbed one soldier and tried to stab another 11 minutes earlier.

Immediately following the court’s announcement, politicians and public figures, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, called for Azaria to be pardoned.

As a soldier, such a pardon could only come from Eisenkot or President Reuven Rivlin, who indicated earlier in the day that he would only make such a decision with Eisenkot’s approval.

In his statement, Eiesenkot said, “If Sgt. (res.) Azaria decides to file a request for a reduced sentence, it will be seriously considered, along with a review of the other considerations related to this case and from my commitment to the ethics of the IDF, its soldiers and its service members.”

— Judah Ari Gross