Sentencing of soldier divides Israeli society

Palestinians praise conviction but dismiss sentence as far too lenient

JERUSALEM, MIDDLE EAST - An Israeli soldier was sentenced on Tuesday to 18 months in prison for killing a badly wounded Palestinian assailant as he lay on the ground, in a landmark decision that deepened fissures in Israeli society and drew Palestinian criticism for being too lenient.

Leading nationalist Israeli politicians called any jail time unfair and urged an immediate pardon, while Palestinians dismissed Israel's justice system as a "joke".

The sentencing of Sergeant Elor Azaria culminated a nearly yearlong saga that has bitterly divided the country. While Israel's top generals pushed for the prosecution of a soldier they say violated the military's code of ethics, large segments of the public, including politicians on Israel's nationalist right, sided with Azaria. Even Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave only lukewarm support to his military.

Although the sentence was lighter than expected, those divisions showed no signs of easing following Tuesday's sentencing at a Tel Aviv military court. Dozens of people demonstrated outside in support of Azaria.

Azaria, an army medic, was recorded on a cellphone video in March last year as he fatally shot a badly wounded Palestinian who had stabbed a soldier in the West Bank city of Hebron. The Palestinian, Abdel Fattah al-Sharif, was lying on the ground unarmed when Azaria shot him in the head.

Azaria was convicted of manslaughter last month in a rare case of a military court ruling against a combat soldier for lethal action taken in the field.

But the soldier enjoyed wide public support. In Israel, military service is compulsory for most Jewish men, and soldiers enjoy widespread sympathy.

A Channel 2 TV poll taken after the conviction found that 67 percent of respondents supported clemency. The poll questioned 666 people and had a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.

Asa Kasher, a philosopher who wrote the Israeli army's code of ethics, said the case has unleashed dangerous trends in the country.

He said "extremists" initially took up Azaria's cause, and hard-line politicians followed suit. "Anyone with right-wing sentiments enlisted, and everyone in the end rallied behind a soldier who harmed the values of the Israeli army," he said.

The shooting took place at the height of an ongoing wave of violence. Since September 2015, Palestinian attackers have carried out numerous stabbing, shooting and car ramming attacks that have killed 41 Israelis and two visiting US citizens. During the same time, Israeli forces have killed 235 Palestinians, most of them said to be attackers.

Palestinians have accused Israeli forces of using excessive force and even harming innocent people mistaken for attackers. But before the video of the shooting, taken by a Palestinian human rights activist, it was difficult to prove these claims.

Human rights groups praised the conviction but dismissed Tuesday's sentence as far too lenient. Prosecutors had sought a sentence of three to five years in prison.

"Azaria's light sentence of 18 months is an expression of disregard for the value of Palestinian life and likewise fails to serve as a deterrent," said Hassan Jabareen, general director of Adalah, an Arab rights advocacy group in Israel.

Issa Karaka, the Palestinian government minister in charge of prisoner affairs, called the sentence a "joke".

"It shows how much discrimination Israeli courts practice against Palestinians," he said.

Associated Press