Israel’s President Herzog clears criminal record of soldier who killed Palestinian in 2016
Israeli President Isaac Herzog has decided to expunge the criminal record of soldier Elor Azaria, convicted of manslaughter for killing Palestinian Abdel Fattah al-Sharif in Hebron in 2016, according to Israeli media.
Azaria, an Israeli army medic, was filmed executing a severely wounded Palestinian in the occupied West Bank, and later told a colleague that al-Sharif “deserved to die.” He received a sentence of 18 months in prison and a demotion for his crime.
Herzog announced Saturday evening that he had shortened the remaining erasure period on Azaria’s record, effectively clearing it despite opposition from Israeli army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir.
Israeli Defence Minister Yisrael Katz said he “congratulate[s] the President on his decision to accept my recommendation to pardon soldier Elor Azaria and expunge his criminal record.”
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Turkish parliament speaker says ‘Israel should not chase empty dreams’
Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus has accused Israel of seeking to deepen divisions across the Middle East, saying Ankara would instead work to bring the region together.
“Israel’s main goal is for the peoples of this region to fall out with each other, to fight each other, and to realize its own ‘promised land’,” Kurtulmus said during a civil society gathering in Kirsehir.
“Israel should not chase empty dreams,” he added. “As Turkiye, we will bring this region together and continue on our path.”
Kurtulmus said Israel had carried out attacks in recent years against Palestine, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Qatar, arguing that almost every country in the region had been affected by conflict.
“They want to divide and fragment; we want to unite and integrate,” Kurtulmus said. “They want to scatter; we want to bring people together.”
He said divisions along Sunni-Shia, Turkish-Kurdish and Arab-Persian lines would benefit no one, calling instead for greater regional unity.
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