Israeli President Pardons Ex-Soldier Over Killing of Incapacitated Palestinian

Israel’s president on Saturday expunged the criminal record of a former soldier who fatally shot a severely wounded Palestinian assailant a decade ago, fulfilling a long-sought demand from Israel’s right. The case of the soldier, Elor Azaria, set off intense public debate in Israel and abroad in 2016 over Israeli soldiers’ treatment of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and whether Israel would prosecute members of the security forces accused of grave crimes. Isaac Herzog, the Israeli president, said on Saturday that he had decided to clear Mr. Azaria’s criminal record after “examining all the circumstances of the case and the considerations related to the request,” and “after many years in which Azaria bore the consequences of his actions.” Mr. Azaria was convicted of manslaughter for shooting the injured Palestinian man, Abdul Fattah al-Sharif, in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The episode, which was captured on video, began when Mr. al-Sharif and another man stabbed and wounded an Israeli soldier at a checkpoint. Israeli soldiers shot Mr. al-Sharif six times and killed the other attacker, and Mr. Azaria arrived at the scene about six minutes later. After several more minutes, Mr. Azaria shot Mr. al-Sharif, 21, in the head at close range as he lay motionless on the ground — drawing condemnation from the Israeli military and resulting in a trial that exposed deep divisions in Israeli society. Mr. Azaria served nine months in prison and was released on parole. The pardon by Mr. Herzog came amid a rising number of attacks by Jewish settlers on Palestinians in the West Bank, and growing international condemnation of that violence. The president’s decision also immediately fueled speculation about why Mr. Herzog, who recently spoke out against “brutalization” creeping into Israeli society, would do such a thing, and whether he might be considering the politically contentious pardon of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the corruption charges he faces. We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in . Want all of The Times? Subscribe .