President Isaac Herzog has granted a pardon to former IDF soldier Elor Azaria
By Sammy Tisser,
President Isaac Herzog has granted a pardon to former IDF soldier Elor Azaria, ordering the immediate removal of the remaining period of his criminal record nearly a decade after the shooting incident in Hebron.
Azaria was convicted of manslaughter in 2017 after fatally shooting Abdel Fattah al-Sharif, a Palestinian attacker who had already been neutralized following a stabbing attack against an Israeli soldier in Hebron in March 2016. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison and was released in 2018.
The decision, announced ahead of Yom Kippur, follows a recommendation from Defense Minister Israel Katz, despite opposition from IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and other senior military officials.
"After many long years in which Azaria bore the consequences of his actions," the President's Office said, the circumstances and passage of time justify allowing him to "open a new chapter in his life."
Katz welcomed the decision, calling it a "correct, humane and worthy decision" that reflects the spirit of forgiveness ahead of Yom Kippur.
"We do not abandon soldiers, and we do not leave them behind," Katz added.
Herzog emphasized that the pardon does not overturn Azaria's conviction or invalidate the military court's original ruling, stressing that the decision "does not constitute a reassessment of the case."
Topics: IDF
Reported by Sammy Tisser for Bernie News Network. See our editorial standards and corrections policy.