Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz announced that he officially appealed to President Isaac Herzog to pardon and erase the criminal record of Israeli soldier Elor Azaria, who shot dead Palestinian Abdul Fattah al-Sharif, who was lying injured on the ground in the occupied West Bank, in the head.
Defense Minister Yisrael Katz made a statement regarding Israeli soldier Azaria, who shot Palestinian Abdulfettah al-Sharif in the head and killed him during a raid by Israeli soldiers in the city of Hebron in 2016.
Katz claimed that Azaria's conviction had a bad impact on the motivation of young people who joined the army and said, "It is unacceptable that a soldier with a superior service medal continues to pay such a heavy price even ten years later for a crime he committed during his operational duty." he said.
Stating that he officially applied to President Herzog for the pardon of the Israeli soldier, Katz stated that the request aims to shorten the legal period for the criminal record of Azaria, who killed Palestinian Abdulfettah al-Sharif, to be erased.
In the statement made by the Israeli Presidency, it was confirmed that Defense Minister Yisrael Katz and the Israeli soldier made an official request to Herzog regarding the issue.
In the statement, "Elor Azaria applied to shorten the legal period required to erase his criminal record. In accordance with the standard procedure, the application was forwarded to the defense institutions to obtain the opinions of the relevant officials, including the Minister of Defense and the Israeli army." statements were included.
It was reported that Israeli soldiers killed 21-year-old Palestinian Abdulfettah al-Sharif and 21-year-old Ramzi al-Qasrawi, for allegedly "stabbing a soldier" in the city of Hebron in March 2016.
However, hours after the incident, footage emerged of the moment Elor Azaria shot and killed Sharif, who was lying injured on the ground, in the head.
Following the controversial image, Azaria was tried by the Israeli Military Court and claimed that the injured Palestinian lying on the ground "fired under the threat of a bomb on him, and that Abdulfettah al-Sharif died not because of the bullet he fired himself, but because of the wound he received before."
The military court found Azaria guilty of "involuntary manslaughter" and sentenced him to 18 months in prison. The sentence of Azaria, who was imprisoned in August 2017, was reduced to 14 months by former Israeli Chief of General Staff Gadi Eizenkot.
Azaria was released in May 2018 after serving only 9 months in prison.