The prosecution is asking for a three to five year jail sentence for an IDF soldier convicted of manslaughter for shooting and killing an incapacitated Palestinian assailant.
At an ongoing sentencing hearing, the prosecution says that given the severity of the incident, Sgt. Elor Azaria, 19, deserves a lengthy jail sentence. However, the prosecutor noted that 3-5 years is on the lenient scale for the crime he is convicted of, saying it took into consideration the soldier’s past good behavior and service record.
IDF soldier Elor Azaria, who was convicted of manslaughter for shooting dead a prone and wounded Palestinian assailant, in a case that has deeply divided Israel, sits with his parents as he waits for his sentence hearing at a military court in Tel Aviv January 24, 2017. (AFP/DEBBIE HILL)
Azaria’s trial saw politicians and current and former army generals alternately supporting or condemning the soldier’s actions. Many of the army’s top brass, as well as former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon, had railed against Azaria’s “unethical” decision to shoot the assailant, Abdel Fattah al-Sharif, in the head nearly 15 minutes after the latter was shot and wounded as he attempted to stab an IDF soldier in Hebron last March.
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