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Wednesday, May 9, 2018
Israeli soldier who shot wounded Palestinian in head freed from prison
Israeli media say Elor Azaria was freed two days early to attend his brother's wedding
Azaria shot the wounded Palestinian in the head inside the occupied West Bank city of Hebron (Reuters)
Tuesday 8 May 2018
An Israeli soldier who shot a wounded Palestinian in the head was freed
from prison on Tuesday, after serving nine months of a jail sentence,
the Israeli army said.
Elor Azaria was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 18 months in
prison for killing Abdul Fatah al-Sharif in the occupied West Bank city
of Hebron.
The Israeli armed forces chief of staff, Gadi Eisenkot, however, later
reduced the term by four months. In March a parole board reduced the
sentence still further. The army had previously said that Azaria was due
to be released on May 10.
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Israeli media said he was freed two days early from Tzrifim military
prison, near Tel Aviv, to allow him to attend his brother's wedding.
"I can confirm that he was released," an army spokesman told AFP on
Tuesday. Prisoners in Israel often have their sentences cut by a third
for good behaviour.
The early release has already prompted recation from some Palestinian
parliamentarians, including Ahmed Tibi, a member of the Knesset, who
referenced the recent Israeli army shooting of Palestinian protesters
Translation: Elor Azaria will be
freed today from prison and he will immediately join the snipers at the
border of the Gaza Strip
Hamas, the Islamic organisation that governs Gaza, said in a statement
that the "Israeli occupation authorities released the criminal soldier
Elor Azaria who executed the wounded Palestinian youth Abdel-Fattah
Al-Sharif in Hebron".
It added that Netanyahu "congratulated" Azaria and "rewarded" him,
considering this as "an official encouragement for killing, that
reflects the extent of the systematic state terrorism by the occupation
government against the Palestinian people".
Hamas called upon the international community and civil society
institutions to act against "Israeli occupation and its leaders, and to
put an end to their terrorism and violation".
Azaria, who was 19 at the time of the shooting on 24 March 2016, began serving his sentence in August 2017.
Trial revealed Israeli divisions
A video released by B'Tselem, an Israeli NGO that documents human rights
violations against Palestinians, showed Azaria shooting Sharif in the
head without any apparent provocation.
Azaria said that at the time he "feared Al-Sharif was wearing an
explosive belt and could blow himself up," a claim judges rejected.
Israel detained Sharif's body for almost two months, preventing his family from burying him according to Muslim tradition.
The trial captivated Israel and highlighted deep divisions in public
opinion between those who denounced the shooting and others who said it
was justified.
Senior army officers strongly denounced Azaria's actions, but right-wing
politicians, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, called for
him to be pardoned.
Last year, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin rejected a request to pardon Azaria.
"President Reuven Rivlin today took the decision to deny the request for
pardon filed by Elor Azaria," it said in an English-language statement,
exactly one month after the jailed soldier submitted the request.
