Israeli president pardons soldier convicted for killing wounded Palestinian
Israeli president pardons soldier convicted for killing wounded Palestinian Submitted by Nadav Rapaport on Sun, 09/20/2026 - 14:15 Azaria was convicted of manslaughter after shooting Abdel Fattah al-Sharif as he lay wounded on a Hebron street in 2016 Israeli soldier Elor Azaria is lifted by friends near his family home in Ramla, near Tel Aviv, as they celebrate his release from prison, 8 May 2018…
Israeli President Isaac Herzog has pardoned former soldier Elor Azaria, who was convicted of manslaughter for shooting Abdel Fattah al-Sharif, a 21-year-old Palestinian man, in the head after he was wounded by Israeli soldiers in Hebron in 2016. The pardon erases Azaria's criminal record, following more than a decade since the incident.
The killing, captured on camera, sparked controversy in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, with the Palestinian foreign ministry calling it an extrajudicial execution and the Israeli military stating Azaria violated the army's ethics code. The Israeli president pardoned Azaria, stating it was in the spirit of Yom Kippur, or Day of Atonement, and to allow him to turn a new page in his life.
However, the Israeli military, led by its chief Eyal Zamir, initially opposed the pardon, citing Azaria's lack of public remorse for the killing.
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