Uncle of slain Hebron stabber: Soldier should say sorry, not be jailed

The uncle of the Hebron assailant killed by an Israeli soldier as he lay wounded last month tells The Times of Israel that he does not wish to see the soldier who shot his nephew dead sent to prison.

“What happened, happened. It won’t help me or the family if he is in jail,” Fathi al-Sharif says over the phone from his Hebron home.

On Monday, Elor Azaria was charged with manslaughter for the slaying of Abdel Fattah al-Sharif, 21, following a stabbing attack in a Jewish enclave of the West Bank city on March 24.

Azaria has been in jail and under supervised detention since shortly after the incident, angering his family and some right-wing activists and politicians, who believe the army abandoned him.

Al-Sharif says he is not aware of the comments made Tuesday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling for “balance” during Azaria’s trial, but casts doubt on whether Azaria will be fully prosecuted.

Al-Sharif stresses, however, that the outcome of the court case matters little to him and his family.

“What is important to me is that the soldier should admit what he did was wrong, apologize to the family, and please please they should return my nephew’s body,” he says. “The most important thing is that the peace process should continue. We need to increase the love between the two peoples who are living side by side next to each other.”

“We have had enough of the killing and the hatred,” he adds.

“I don’t hate any Jews,” says al-Sharif. “But there is one thing I do hate and that must end and that is the occupation.”

— Dov Lieber