IDF spokesperson defends initial denouncement of Hebron shooter

In an Army Radio interview, IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Moti Almoz defends his decision to immediately denounce the so-called Hebron shooting, in which a soldier shot and killed an incapacitated Palestinian assailant.

In March, Sgt. Elor Azaria was caught on film shooting a disarmed, supine Palestinian man in the head nearly 15 minutes after he was shot while carrying out a stabbing attack in the flashpoint West Bank city.

Almoz immediately spoke out against the action, saying, “This is not the IDF, these are not the values of the IDF and these are not the values of the Jewish people.”

In the months since, the story has dominated Israeli media, with minute-to-minute updates coming out of Azaria’s manslaughter trial. Almoz has also caught flak from Azaria’s supports for “abandoning” the soldier.

However, the army spokesperson says he does not regret his remarks.

“I didn’t know it would get to here, but even that afternoon we understand that this was a very serious incident,” he says.

“Tomorrow morning, I would do the exact same thing,” Almoz says.