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News > World

Israel Minister Wants Soldier Who Executed Palestinian Pardoned

  • Israeli soldier Elor Azaria aims at wounded Palestinian man as he lies on the ground despite posing no threat.

    Israeli soldier Elor Azaria aims at wounded Palestinian man as he lies on the ground despite posing no threat. | Photo: YouTube / btselem

Published 9 October 2016
Opinion

The far-right Israeli education minister also said last week that Israelis must “give their lives” to make the West Bank and Gaza part of Israel.

The Israeli soldier facing a military trial for executing a Palestinian man while he was lying on the ground bleeding should “not spend a single day behind bars” and should be pardoned by the government, Naftali Bennett, the Israeli education minister and head of the far-right nationalist Jewish Home party, said Sunday.

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"This soldier should not spend a single day in prison. If he is found guilty, he should immediately be pardoned," Bennett told military radio Sunday referring to Israeli soldier Elor Azaria who killed Abdul Fatah al-Sharif after he carried out an alleged stabbing attack at an occupation checkpoint in the West Bank.

"Our soldiers are facing a terrorist wave of Palestinian killers and are defending us. We should show them that we are with them," he added.

The video exposing the actions of the Israeli-French national was captured by a Palestinian activist working with the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem and showed Azaria briefly talking with another soldier then shooting Sharif in the head from a few meters away.

According to the video, Sharif was lying on the ground with severe wounds and posed no threat, but Azaria shot him anyway. He said he was worried that the Palestinian had an explosive belt.

The case became a contentious issue in Israel after he was arrested by the military and charged with manslaughter. The far-right defended him and his crime. An opinion poll in May found that a majority of Israelis thought he should be free and never put on trial.

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Bennett is known for his controversial comments and his opposition to any peace with the Palestinians. He repeatedly called for the Israeli annexation of what is left of the West Bank and Gaza.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz published an editorial Saturday titled, “Israel’s Naftali Bennett is Calling for Jihad,” as it slammed his comments last week that Israelis “must give our lives” for the annexation of the West Bank to Israel.

“This isn’t an eccentric zealot or a rabbi who sends the so-called hilltop youth to attack Palestinians and their property. It’s the education minister, a member of the security cabinet and the leader of a party in the governing coalition,” the newspaper warned.

Bennett’s Sunday comments did not go unnoticed in Israel and drew criticism from other politicians. While a trial is underway, "a minister should hold back and not make comments for the sake of a few points in the polls," opposition lawmaker Elazar Stern, a former major general, told local media Sunday.

However, Bennett’s position on the trial isn't that different from that of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's. In September it was revealed that just a few hours after the incident March, Netanyahu called the soldier's father to express his sympathy.

The court has not yet set a date for its verdict.

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