Israeli military not investigating attacks by troops

Elor Azaria, the Israeli soldier who shot a Palestinian terrorist in Hebron, seen during a court hearing at a military court in Jaffa, August 28, 2016.

Lawyers for Azaria claimed he shot the Palestinian because he believed the man had a hidden bomb. Col. Heller said Azaria acted contrary to the rules for opening fire and gave testimony that was inconsistent and not credible.

In delivering her verdict, Colonel Maya Heller systematically rejected all of Azaria’s defence arguments, saying “the fact that the man on the ground was a terrorist does not justify a disproportionate response”.

Originally, prosecutors pushed for the charge to be murder, which would have carried a sentence up to 20 years.

IDF soldier Sergeant Elor Azaria has been found guilty of manslaughter by a three person military tribunal in Tel Aviv.

A three-judge panel called him guilty of manslaughter on Wednesday.

In contrast to the Israeli far-right, figures like former Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon castigated the soldier’s actions. The defense team said it would appeal.

The statement also said: “I urge all citizens to act responsibly toward the IDF, the officers, and the IDF chief”. The soldier was caught on video fatally shooting a wounded Palestinian attacker in the West Bank in March. Tzipi Livni, an opposition Knesset member, plans to hold a discussion on whether the resolution could open the door for Israeli soldiers to be prosecuted in the International Criminal Court at The Hague.

At the centre of the trial is the March 24 shooting of Fatah al-Sharif as he lay overpowered on the ground, which was filmed by activists for the Israeli B’Tselem human rights group. He was pushed out of his defense post a year ago by Netanyahu after giving a speech criticizing an “extremist minority” trying to shift Israeli society in favor of “trigger-happy” soldiers who act out of “revenge”.

Instead, the judgment made clear Azaria was a serial liar who changed his stories about the circumstances of the killing on multiple occasions. Throughout the trial, the family has repeatedly said that Israeli parents send their most precious possession to the army in good faith. Despite Azaria’s supporters claiming senior Israel Defense Forces leaders, politicians, the media or public opinion could influence the ruling, Heller emphasized that “the verdict is based exclusively on the evidence brought forth (in the trial)”. “Beyond any political discussion, we have to protect the army and keep it out of the political dispute”, he said on Israeli television.

“Despite the hard verdict, the defense establishment will do everything it can to assist the soldier and his family”, Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s defense minister, who disagrees with the verdict, told reporters after the ruling.

“Israeli law enforcement system, including the military justice system, is fulfilling its role independently, impartially and devoid of bias, and according to legal and professional considerations only”.