UPDATED: Israeli court convicts soldier of fatally shooting wounded Palestinian assailant

[DonViejo]

Last edited Wed Jan 4, 2017, 02:44 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: The Washington Post

By Ruth Eglash January 4 at 7:13 AM

JERUSALEM In a trial that has split the nation, an Israeli soldier was found guilty of manslaughter Wednesday for shooting and killing a Palestinian assailant as he lay unarmed and wounded on the ground in Hebron last March.

As the verdict was read out, violence broke out among several hundred right-wing protesters who had gathered outside the military court in Tel Aviv to show support for the 20-year-old soldier, Sgt. Elor Azaria.

They, and many others in Israel, believe Azaria acted bravely killing a terrorist and should not have been put on trial for manslaughter but rather given a medal for his actions, which came during a spate of Israeli-Palestinian violence in Israel and the West Bank.

This is not how we should treat our soldiers. A trial should not have happened in the first place, we are talking about a combat situation in which a terrorist was killed, said Culture Minister Miri Regev. She said she would push for Azaria to be pardoned.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/israeli-court-convicts-soldier-of-shooting-dead-wounded-palestinian-assailant/2017/01/04/b766ecdc-d1d6-11e6-9651-54a0154cf5b3_story.html?utm_term=.874a6e2b5b03

---

UPDATE:

Netanyahu Supports Pardoning Israeli Soldier Convicted of Manslaughter

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly said he supports pardoning an Israeli soldier who was convicted Wednesday of manslaughter for fatally shooting a wounded Palestinian attacker in the head. Sgt. Elor Azaria said during his trial that he believed the Palestinian man, Abdul Fatah al-Sharif, was wearing an explosive vest. Prosecutors claimed Azaria was seeking revenge for the stabbing of his fellow soldier.

READ IT AT BBC NEWS

[mountain grammy]

1. More justice in Jerusalem than in Florida

[Archae]

2. Just curious...

When has the Palestinian "leadership" ever arrested, much less convicted any Palestinian for attacking Israeli total innocents?

"Oh, that's different!"

[7962]

3. NEVER! Palestinian attackers are given parades or their families given money.

But nobody cares about that. Everything is Israel's fault, right?

[4Tone]

7. Yes, everything IS the fault of the Israelis.

They're the ones trying to steal the land and run off its original owners through violence and apartheid.

I'm genuinely sorry that you don't understand the difference between an occupying force and a resistance movement.

[7962]

8. You start a war & lose it, you lost. Tough. "resistance movement" my ass.

Quit targeting innocent civilians every day. Stop electing leadership that calls for the TOTAL removal of Israel. Stop celebrating people who blow up pizza shops
3 times the Arab world has tried to wipe out Israel & failed. A few of the Arab nations have realized the folly of continuing to try and reached peace deals. The result has been no further trouble between them and Israel. Take a hint.

[4Tone]

10. Israel annexed Gaza and the West Bank in a pre-emptive war not recognized by international law.

You don't get to play the victim when you shot first. Except in Florida.

[branford]

15. Would you care to explain or continue to excuse the Palestinian

violence between 1947 and 1967 before Israel occupied the territories? Middle East history did not begin after the Six Day War.

Further, the closure of the Straits of Tiran alone justified a casus belli for Israeli military action.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six-Day_War

[4Tone]

23. Which pre-Israel paramilitary (terrorist) group do you want to discuss? Irgun? Lehi? Haganah?

The Irgun was bombing Palestinian villages as early as 1938.

The Irgun and Lehi paramilitary organizations targeted British soldiers and police.

The Lehi called for a ""new totalitarian Hebrew republic."

The Lehi attacked the British even as the British were fighting Nazi Germany.

In 1940, the Haganah sank a British ship, killing 260 people.

Violence between 1947 and 1967 can be traced back to pre-Israel terrorism. The Palestinians are doing nothing that the founders of Israel didn't do first.

[branford]

26. I'll be happy to discuss them all and more.

You need simply and openly acknowledge that the Palestinians, at the very least also engaged in a myriad of military action, terrorism, attack against civilians, etc., and they did so widely pre-1967 (and certainly post-1967 even outside of the Middle East), both before and after the formation of Israel as a state.

If you continue to effectively excuse all or virtually all of Palestinian violence, no less that directed entirely against civilians, as a response to the occupation, it's not only disingenuous and deprives the Palestinians of any form of independent agency or responsibility, but such myopic focus on only one side of such a long and complicated conflict easily borders on antisemitism, and most definitely is not in tune the Democratic Party positions concerning Israel, even those of President Obama after the UN abstention.

[4Tone]

28. The Palestianian are no less responsible for their response than the Revolutionaries were.

Occupying powers are responsible for how the populations they occupy perceive them and respond to them. If Israel weren't occupying land that doesn't belong to it, then they wouldn't have people inside their supposed borders fighting for their independence.

And "Semite" means more than just "Jewish." I know, I know, calling someone an anti-Semite is supposed to be the winning closer, but not this time.

[branford]

33. Antisemitism is a term of art.

It is recognized hatred of Jews, and has been so since the early 1900's and the Shoah.

The purported argument that Palestinian are really "Semites" as a means of diverting a topic is a canard routinely advanced by antisemites.

Lastly, the only parties occupying the West Bank and Gaza post-1947 and pre-1967 were Jordan and Egypt, not Israel. If you believe the fighting against the existence of Israel itself is justified, than I am yet more confident in my belief in your possible antisemitism. Apparently, self-determination is allowed for Palestinians, but not Jews, particularly those born and living in the region for centuries (and many who were expelled by the Arabs).

[4Tone]

35. You can get away with name-calling because I mentioned I'm locked out of alerting

but that doesn't mean it's not exactly what you're doing.

Good riddance to you from now on.

[7962]

47. And we used to firebomb cities to win a war. We dont anymore. History.

60 yrs ago this soldier may never have been charged at all. but he was, and convicted. Meanwhile the palestinians stay stuck in the past

[4Tone]

49. Netanyahu's support for his pardon kind of undermines your argument. The Israeli Prime Minister

wants to undo the results of the court.

[7962]

52. No it doesnt. You're equating decades old incidents with current acts by palestinians.

This is one soldier in court.
And the palestinians will continue to live as the losers in the middle east as long as they continue to elect leaders that call for the total elimination of Israel. They dont even show the country on maps or in schoolbooks. Like immature fools.
Must be very frustrating for you to constantly back them when they wont do anything to improve their situation themselves

[4Tone]

53. Your crystal ball must be broken, because it has misread my mood badly.

I'm not "frustrated" by Palestinians. They are doing what every other group fighting for their freedom has done throughout history.

[7962]

56. Not really. And they'd have peace if they'd listened to Jordan, Egypt & others.

But they dont because they're used as pawns by Arab terrorists. Even other Arab nations wont allow them to immigrate into their countries. Because they know what comes with them.

[4Tone]

58. Negative aspersions based on nationality? Your rhetoric is borderline hateful and nearly bigoted.

I'd appreciate it if you could find somewhere else to excrete it.

[7962]

61. Oh please. What in that post is false? They want nothing to do with them;

yet the UN doesnt pass any resolutions to pressure them to help out. No pressure from other countries for them to take any of them in. Why? because its more about being anti-Israel than helping the palestinians. Remember, Jordan was cut from the same cloth as Israel & at the same time.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the real world is what it is.

[4Tone]

64. I never said what you wrote was false. I said that your rhetoric was borderline hateful.

The way you speak of Palestinians in negative stereotypes, saying that other nations won't take them "because they know what comes with them." Such a mindset is as disgusting as it is ignorant. Maybe try to insert some group or subset that you belong to into such a sentence, then reread it to yourself, so that you might just maybe be able to understand how terrible something like that sounds.

Someone else pointed out that I can use Ignore to block people who use such divisive language as you do, so I think I'll try that out now.

[7962]

65. Havent seen any DU members advocating terror, so your point is nonsense.

"Ignore". The fallback when you cant argue with facts. I dont have anyone here on ignore. I bet your list is already full & youve only got 47 posts. That says a lot right there.

[treestar]

60. Both sides seems to want all the land

The settlements and our being called backstabbers for not deciding not to condemn them proves that.

I had heard only the hard right supported the settlements, but now their PM is dissing up for abstaining on a resolution condemning them.

I wonder when the rest of the world, especially the US, is going to get tired of both sides. They obviously both want nothing less than all of the land and won't cooperate with a two state solution.

[Archae]

9. "Yes, everything IS the fault of the Israelis."

"The Jews are to blame for everything." -Joseph Goebbels

BTW, Holocaust revisionism is still rampant in Palestinian areas.

[4Tone]

11. There is a clear distinction between "Jews" and "Israelis."

I can't believe I have to explain this.

Edit: I find your attempt to equate me with Nazis for criticizing Israel to be especially disgusting. You should be ashamed of yourself.

[Archae]

12. Israelis *ARE* almost all Jews.

And when you use basically the same thing a Nazi said, I will point it out.

[4Tone]

13. Almost isn't all. Israeli is a nationality, not a religion or ethnicity.

Your repeated violations of Godwin's Law lose their impact the more and more you misuse and overuse them.

[LanternWaste]

19. I like to pretend that people who disagree with me were on Hitler's cabinet as well.

I like to pretend that people who disagree with me were on Hitler's cabinet as well, as it accurately illustrates both the depth and width of our rational thought.

[4Tone]

25. That comment survived a jury vote, 0-7.

I thought I was coming here to support Democrats, not to be called a Nazi, but apparently I was wrong. And since it's not a violation of the Terms of Service to equate someone with Joseph Goebbels, I'm locked out from alerting on the post where he goes even further.

[branford]

38. You might wish to consider why the jury was 0-7 to leave the comment

and if you're the one out of touch.

You may also wish to actually read the Democratic Platform concerning Israel and listen to the comments by actual elected Democratic leaders, including President Obama and Vice-President Biden, no less even more pro-Israel Democrats in Congress. If you think you expressed beliefs comments on the topic even remotely parallel these sources, you would be willfully blind.

[4Tone]

43. All you have is insults, which says more about you than anything else you've written.

[branford]

48. If multiple different people on a Democratic website

are accusing you of antisemitism, or as you claim, essentially being a "Nazi," or a post you didn't like was allowed to stay on a vote of 0-7, you might want to engage in a little self-reflection as to just why that might be the case.

[4Tone]

50. So far, you're the only one bringing it up. Again, because you tried to taint this

whole subthread by throwing "anti-semite" around aimlessly.

[branford]

27. Antisemitism is still rampant among much of the far left and our own Party.

You need only look at the numerous examples of disciplined members of Labour in Britain under Corbyn.

Treating Jews as different and contemptible is one of the few forms of bigotry still implicitly considered acceptable.

[4Tone]

30. Deliberately obfuscating a discussion about Israel by claiming it's about Jews instead is dishonest.

And as valid arguments go, it's pretty bad.

[branford]

34. Ignoring comments and positions, like your earlier "Palestinians are also Semites" argument,

would be ignorant. Much of this discussion is indeed about Jews, and comments like many of yours in this very thread prove the point.

[4Tone]

36. This discussion is about Israelis, actually. You inserted yourselve into it and tried to change it.

Big fail, though.

[MosheFeingold]

14. Oh stop

Let's start with ancient history: unless you believe the Arabs in Judea and Samaria are actually Canaanites, they are not the "original owners," just migrants like everyone else (and probably like the Canaanites before that).

Now, regarding more recent (and relevant history), it would take a book.

But to overly-summarize, basically the entire middle east as we know it was carved up as the Ottoman and various other empires fell apart. The existing borders were largely drawn by a French cartographer and a British poet (or something) based on their best guesses. Things moved around a bit with the English, French, and Prussian/Germans before/during/after WWI and WWII.

Anyway, the borders were not well drawn, as one can see today in Iraq, Iran, and Syria.

"Palestine" was largely the British Mandate. It was overwhelmingly Jewish and was so since 70 AD. The original flag of Palestine was, in fact, a Star of David, long before Ben Gurion got around to forming a new country out of what was essentially no man's land. (Go look at the settlement of Tel Aviv -- it was literally a desert wasteland.)

As the great powers were distracted by the Great Depression and gathering war clouds (and because the Germans didn't like the Brits), there was an Arab invasion of the area in 1928, led by Jordan, followed by ethnic cleansing of the Jewish residents. Much the same thing happened in 1947, using former Waffen SS Troops, led by "former" Nazi officers. (This is generally considered the last battle of WWII, long after V-E Day.

For fun, google "Grand Mufti of Jerusalem" (Yasser Arafat's uncle) and "Hitler." They like to parade around together.

Regardless, the "West Bank" and "Arab East Jerusalem" were mixed Jewish, Arab (largely Christian), Druze, and Arab Muslim until this ethnic cleansing. The Arabs were no more (recent) "original owners" any more than the Jewish people they expelled.

In 1967, the Israelis got the land back (and more -- e.g., the Sinai, and gave back a lot since then).

All this is not to say Israel has done some bad or hard things in this struggle. I agree they have.

But to paint the Israelis as "invaders" and the Arabs as "oppressed" is completely ignorant and simplistic.

In fact, if one goes back to the British partition plan, the Jews were all for a two state solution and a much smaller modern Israel. The Arabs (guided largely by hate instilled historically and whipped up by Germans) would have none of that, and wanted the Jewish people either dead or subservient, so much so they refuse to concede Israel (whatever its borders) has a right to exist.

[4Tone]

16. "the Jews were all for a two state solution and a much smaller modern Israel"

That you can repeat this given how quickly Israel seized more land in pre-emptive strikes is genuinely hilarious. Thank you for the laughs.

[tritsofme]

20. Instead of peace in 1948, the Arabs tried wage a genocidal war to drive the Jews into the sea.

And lost, repeatedly. The 1948 deal is no longer on the table.

[4Tone]

24. Because prior to 1948, Zionists tried to do the same thing to Arabs.

Jewish paramilitary organizations attacked British soldiers and Arab civilians in order to drive them out of the land they wanted.

[7962]

42. Most left because they were told that the Arab armies would remove Israel

and then they could come back and reclaim "their" land. They've been losers ever since. And they'll continue to be until they wise up like Egypt, Jordan & Saudi Arabia. All living as neighbors ever since they awakened

[7962]

46. Your facts are useless to some. But thank you. nt

[LanternWaste]

17. I admire your consistent inability to see more than two perspectives at any given time.

I admire your consistent inability to see more than two perspectives at any given time. Many would see that as a lack of mental discipline but on you it's simply an gilded crown of ethical righteousness, as it allows so many dimensions to an otherwise rational premise.

[7962]

44. How long does it take you to order a pizza?

You are certainly impressed with your vocabulary. I'm sure there are a few others who admire your constant self-promotion.
But on THIS thread, it looks like my opinion is in the majority.
And it also will prevail in the ME as well. The palestinians can choose to be like those peaceful Arab nations, or they can choose to continue living as "victims" that even none of the other Arab nations will take in

[leftynyc]

4. Good question and the answer is NEVER

They get a parade and money from the PA.

[MosheFeingold]

5. Double standard is strong

I agree. I'm also sick of it.

In the PA, this turd would be given a parade.

[geek tragedy]

22. So you think the Israelis should adjust their moral standards down to what they

perceive to be the Palestinians'?

[branford]

29. Are you at surprised that the Israelis might culturally respond

after seeing so many murderers and terrorists openly applauded, paid and rewarded for their crimes by the PA, the more "libera" Palestinian government (as opposed to Hamas, a recognized terrorist group, in Gaza)?

Maybe if Israel named a street in Jerusalem after the soldier to honor his "heroism" the PA would get the message.

[Rustyeye77]

31. Thread winner.

"game over dude"

[MosheFeingold]

37. I respectfully disagree.

Israel is not remotely perfect, but it takes the high road against its worst elements.

Honoring a killer is not productive, nor the message to send.

[geek tragedy]

39. you mean like Yitzhak Shamir and his fellow Stern gang terrorists?

is the "Lehi ribbon" not a thing?

Israelis are responsible for their own moral status. If they want the Palestinians and Syrians to be their baseline, they don't get to sit next to Canada and France.

[branford]

41. I'm curious,

do you approve of the PA handing out candy, applauding and paying salaries and pensions to admitted murders of civilians and other terrorists?

If not, is is because you believe it morally reprehensible or just politically unwise?

In any event, unlike similar Palestinians, the Israels actually changed and convicted the soldier. My point was simply that as a cultural phenomena it is entirely unsurprising that after a certain point, an increasing number of Israelis would begin to sympathize even with those who go against an otherwise firm moral or legal code as a matter of simple solidarity. It's basic psychology.

Although our mutual opinions on the conflict are both readily apparent and quite different, I doubt you would disagree that both sides dehumanize each other and often tolerate the intolerable for political purposes, and this is making lasting peace all the more difficult.

[geek tragedy]

54. regarding your last point, yes both sides tend to engage in a moral race to the bottom

I find the whole "but what abouts" etc on both sides to be rather tedious. The brutality of occupation and the brutality of terrorism feed off one another, while posing as resistance.

We'll see if Bibi pardons him.

[tritsofme]

62. Bibi can't issue pardons, only the president can.

[7962]

45. Old history.

[geek tragedy]

55. what is old history was once recent history nt

[7962]

57. Brilliant.

[eissa]

6. I was just about to ask the same thing. n/t

[NickB79]

18. Just curious...

What does that have to do with a soldier executing another man with a gunshot to the head while he lay on the ground bleeding?

Theoretically, if the Palestinian leadership HAD arrested and convicted a sizeable number of Palestinians to date, and this event still happened, what bearing would it have on this particular situation?

I give great credit to the Israeli government for prosecuting this soldier despite the fact that the Palestinian government would clearly do no such thing if the tables were reversed.

[geek tragedy]

21. Irrelevant to the question of this man's (obvious) guilt

Ask the families of the boys playing soccer on the Gaza beach who were blown up into tiny pieces by the IDF, without legal consequences.

[treestar]

59. But don't they claim to be

a democracy, modern, and that's why they are doing this trial? The guy hadn't died and was no threat at the time. This result does support their claim to being civilized.

[christx30]

63. If you're going to run up and stab

a heavily armed soldier, you're gonna have a bad time.

[guillaumeb]

51. Combat situation Culture Minister Miri Regev?

An unarmed and wounded person lying on the ground?

Hebron is located in Palestine. If the Israeli occupiers had relinquished the stolen territory the situation would not have happened.