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| Israeli Soldier Who Shot Wounded Palestinian Assailant Is Convicted | Israeli Soldier Who Shot Wounded Palestinian Assailant Is Convicted |
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| JERUSALEM — The fate of just one low-ranking Israeli soldier was hanging in the balance. But for many Israelis, the guilty verdict announced on Wednesday was a critical turn in the battle for the character of the state. | JERUSALEM — The fate of just one low-ranking Israeli soldier was hanging in the balance. But for many Israelis, the guilty verdict announced on Wednesday was a critical turn in the battle for the character of the state. |
| When the military judges convicted Sgt. Elor Azaria of manslaughter for shooting a Palestinian assailant in the head as he lay wounded on the ground, they were ruling not just on his conduct but also on the host of ethical and political issues it raised. Since the shooting in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron in March, the case has polarized Israelis and rocked the pedestal on which the military normally stands. | |
| With the 50th anniversary of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank approaching, the highly charged trial had fueled a debate about military ethics and the place of the army in Israeli society. The verdict did little to heal the rifts the trial had exposed: Hours after it was rendered, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joined a chorus of voices calling for the soldier to be pardoned. | With the 50th anniversary of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank approaching, the highly charged trial had fueled a debate about military ethics and the place of the army in Israeli society. The verdict did little to heal the rifts the trial had exposed: Hours after it was rendered, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joined a chorus of voices calling for the soldier to be pardoned. |
| “This is a difficult and painful day for us all,” Mr. Netanyahu said in a Facebook post supporting a pardon, which can be granted by Israel’s president or the army’s top officials. Referring to the Israel Defense Forces, he added, “The soldiers of the I.D.F. are our sons and daughters, and they need to remain above any dispute.” | “This is a difficult and painful day for us all,” Mr. Netanyahu said in a Facebook post supporting a pardon, which can be granted by Israel’s president or the army’s top officials. Referring to the Israel Defense Forces, he added, “The soldiers of the I.D.F. are our sons and daughters, and they need to remain above any dispute.” |
| Prof. David Enoch, an expert in the philosophy of law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said he thought the manslaughter conviction was “justified” but added, “I’m not sure this verdict will be welcomed by many of the soldiers and much of the public.” | Prof. David Enoch, an expert in the philosophy of law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said he thought the manslaughter conviction was “justified” but added, “I’m not sure this verdict will be welcomed by many of the soldiers and much of the public.” |
| The military’s rules make clear that assailants must be quickly incapacitated, but that once the threat is neutralized, they should not be killed. Rights groups and other critics have accused Israeli soldiers and police officers of being too quick to pull the trigger, particularly in response to a recent spate of deadly stabbings, shootings and car attacks by Palestinians. | The military’s rules make clear that assailants must be quickly incapacitated, but that once the threat is neutralized, they should not be killed. Rights groups and other critics have accused Israeli soldiers and police officers of being too quick to pull the trigger, particularly in response to a recent spate of deadly stabbings, shootings and car attacks by Palestinians. |
| The Hebron killing, caught in chilling completeness in a video that quickly went viral worldwide, for many critics crystallized the question of excessive force, and even military leaders said Sergeant Azaria acted without justification. But in Israel, a country where military service is a part of national identity, many Jews called for backing up young soldiers sent on dangerous missions and said that Sergeant Azaria had been in an impossible situation and had little chance of an acquittal, since that would have put his commanders in a bad light. | The Hebron killing, caught in chilling completeness in a video that quickly went viral worldwide, for many critics crystallized the question of excessive force, and even military leaders said Sergeant Azaria acted without justification. But in Israel, a country where military service is a part of national identity, many Jews called for backing up young soldiers sent on dangerous missions and said that Sergeant Azaria had been in an impossible situation and had little chance of an acquittal, since that would have put his commanders in a bad light. |
| Israel’s defense minister, Avigdor Lieberman, called Wednesday’s decision “a tough verdict.” | Israel’s defense minister, Avigdor Lieberman, called Wednesday’s decision “a tough verdict.” |
| “The first thing I ask of all of us — those who like the verdict and those like me who like it much less — we are all obligated to respect the court’s decision,” Mr. Lieberman said. “We are obligated to maintain restraint.” | “The first thing I ask of all of us — those who like the verdict and those like me who like it much less — we are all obligated to respect the court’s decision,” Mr. Lieberman said. “We are obligated to maintain restraint.” |
| Mr. Lieberman, as a member of the parliamentary opposition before his cabinet appointment, had attended the military court to support Sergeant Azaria and called the legal proceedings a “theater of the absurd.” But on Wednesday, he said, “We must keep the army above and beyond all political argument.” | Mr. Lieberman, as a member of the parliamentary opposition before his cabinet appointment, had attended the military court to support Sergeant Azaria and called the legal proceedings a “theater of the absurd.” But on Wednesday, he said, “We must keep the army above and beyond all political argument.” |
| Politicians to Mr. Netanyahu’s right and left have also called for a pardon, including the education minister, Naftali Bennett, and Shelly Yacimovich of the Labor Party, who said that “Azaria’s shoulders are too narrow to bear the entire weight of the fissure” the case has exposed. | Politicians to Mr. Netanyahu’s right and left have also called for a pardon, including the education minister, Naftali Bennett, and Shelly Yacimovich of the Labor Party, who said that “Azaria’s shoulders are too narrow to bear the entire weight of the fissure” the case has exposed. |
| Some Israeli experts compared the Azaria verdict to the Kafr Qassem ruling of more than 60 years ago, after border police officers fatally shot 49 Arab men, women and children as they returned from work in the fields, unwittingly breaking a curfew. The murder convictions of officers in that case established that security forces must refuse to follow a “patently illegal order” that carries a “black flag” of criminality. | Some Israeli experts compared the Azaria verdict to the Kafr Qassem ruling of more than 60 years ago, after border police officers fatally shot 49 Arab men, women and children as they returned from work in the fields, unwittingly breaking a curfew. The murder convictions of officers in that case established that security forces must refuse to follow a “patently illegal order” that carries a “black flag” of criminality. |
| It helped shape the army’s ethos. Now, some fear that in the lower ranks, it has begun to erode. | It helped shape the army’s ethos. Now, some fear that in the lower ranks, it has begun to erode. |
| In a measure of the tensions, the verdict was handed down in a special court inside the walled and heavily guarded compound of the military’s headquarters in Tel Aviv, rather than in the courtroom where the trial was held, to keep demonstrators at bay. | |
| Video footage showed Sergeant Azaria smiling as he entered the courtroom to applause, and he was embraced by his family and friends. Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the compound, shouting slogans like “free the boy.” | Video footage showed Sergeant Azaria smiling as he entered the courtroom to applause, and he was embraced by his family and friends. Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the compound, shouting slogans like “free the boy.” |
| Col. Maya Heller, one of the military judges, spent more than two and a half hours delivering the verdict. She systematically rejected the main points of the defense and said there had been “no justification” for the shooting, according to reports from the courtroom. | Col. Maya Heller, one of the military judges, spent more than two and a half hours delivering the verdict. She systematically rejected the main points of the defense and said there had been “no justification” for the shooting, according to reports from the courtroom. |
| Describing Sergeant Azaria’s telling of the event as “twisting” and “evolving,” the judge said the defense had tried to “hold the rope at both ends.” On one hand it asserted that the victim, Abed al-Fatah al-Sharif, appeared to pose a danger because he was still moving, and on the other it brought medical witnesses who contended that he was dead by the time Sergeant Azaria shot him in the head. | |
| The judge seemed to give great weight to statements Sergeant Azaria, a medic who was 19 at the time, made at the scene, indicating he had acted not out of fear but for revenge. | The judge seemed to give great weight to statements Sergeant Azaria, a medic who was 19 at the time, made at the scene, indicating he had acted not out of fear but for revenge. |
| A soldier testified that before the shooting, Sergeant Azaria had said, “How is it that my friend was stabbed and the terrorist is still alive?” After the shooting, a commander who was at the scene recalled Sergeant Azaria saying, “The terrorist deserved to die.” | A soldier testified that before the shooting, Sergeant Azaria had said, “How is it that my friend was stabbed and the terrorist is still alive?” After the shooting, a commander who was at the scene recalled Sergeant Azaria saying, “The terrorist deserved to die.” |
| Ilan Katz, one of Sergeant Azaria’s lawyers, vowed to appeal. | Ilan Katz, one of Sergeant Azaria’s lawyers, vowed to appeal. |
| The military’s high command had denounced the shooting immediately after it happened, calling it a grave breach of proper military conduct. But Israeli society was divided; against the backdrop of continued Palestinian attacks, many right-wing politicians and celebrities, along with Jewish parents of soldiers, hailed Sergeant Azaria as a hero. | The military’s high command had denounced the shooting immediately after it happened, calling it a grave breach of proper military conduct. But Israeli society was divided; against the backdrop of continued Palestinian attacks, many right-wing politicians and celebrities, along with Jewish parents of soldiers, hailed Sergeant Azaria as a hero. |
| Mr. Netanyahu first condemned Sergeant Azaria’s actions, then phoned the soldier’s family to offer sympathy and reassurances that he would be treated fairly. | Mr. Netanyahu first condemned Sergeant Azaria’s actions, then phoned the soldier’s family to offer sympathy and reassurances that he would be treated fairly. |
| Local television stations frequently showed images of Sergeant Azaria’s distraught parents hugging him in court. Appealing to public sentiment in a country blighted by wars and terrorism, and where most Jewish 18-year-olds are conscripted for up to 32 months of military service, his supporters portrayed him as “everybody’s child.” | Local television stations frequently showed images of Sergeant Azaria’s distraught parents hugging him in court. Appealing to public sentiment in a country blighted by wars and terrorism, and where most Jewish 18-year-olds are conscripted for up to 32 months of military service, his supporters portrayed him as “everybody’s child.” |
| In remarks recorded before the verdict, the military’s chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, tried to puncture that narrative. “An 18-year-old in the Israeli Army is not ‘everybody’s child,’” he said. “He is a fighter, a soldier who must dedicate his life to carry out the tasks we give him. We cannot be confused about this.” | In remarks recorded before the verdict, the military’s chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, tried to puncture that narrative. “An 18-year-old in the Israeli Army is not ‘everybody’s child,’” he said. “He is a fighter, a soldier who must dedicate his life to carry out the tasks we give him. We cannot be confused about this.” |
| The episode began when two Palestinian men stabbed and wounded an Israeli soldier at a checkpoint in Hebron. Israeli soldiers killed one and wounded the other, Mr. Sharif, 21. | The episode began when two Palestinian men stabbed and wounded an Israeli soldier at a checkpoint in Hebron. Israeli soldiers killed one and wounded the other, Mr. Sharif, 21. |
| Sergeant Azaria arrived at the scene about six minutes later. The video showed calm had been restored. Yet 11 minutes after the initial attack, he cocked his rifle and shot Mr. Sharif as he lay on the road. | Sergeant Azaria arrived at the scene about six minutes later. The video showed calm had been restored. Yet 11 minutes after the initial attack, he cocked his rifle and shot Mr. Sharif as he lay on the road. |
| Lawyers representing Sergeant Azaria said he had acted to save his comrades, in the belief that Mr. Sharif, who was still moving, might have been concealing an explosive belt under his jacket. | Lawyers representing Sergeant Azaria said he had acted to save his comrades, in the belief that Mr. Sharif, who was still moving, might have been concealing an explosive belt under his jacket. |
| But Sergeant Azaria did not warn the other soldiers or the medical staff nearby to move away. | But Sergeant Azaria did not warn the other soldiers or the medical staff nearby to move away. |
| During the trial, Sergeant Azaria’s company commander, Maj. Tom Naaman, said he “did not feel any danger” from Mr. Sharif, undercutting the defendant’s claims. | During the trial, Sergeant Azaria’s company commander, Maj. Tom Naaman, said he “did not feel any danger” from Mr. Sharif, undercutting the defendant’s claims. |
| Yusri al-Sharif, Mr. Sharif’s father, told reporters that the verdict was “a good step” but that he hoped there would be no lenience in the sentencing, which is scheduled for Jan. 15. | Yusri al-Sharif, Mr. Sharif’s father, told reporters that the verdict was “a good step” but that he hoped there would be no lenience in the sentencing, which is scheduled for Jan. 15. |
| Ahmad Tibi, an Arab member of the Israeli Parliament, said on Twitter that dozens of soldiers and commanders who killed Palestinians should have been convicted. “Fifty years of occupation add up to much more than one Azaria,” Mr. Tibi wrote. | Ahmad Tibi, an Arab member of the Israeli Parliament, said on Twitter that dozens of soldiers and commanders who killed Palestinians should have been convicted. “Fifty years of occupation add up to much more than one Azaria,” Mr. Tibi wrote. |