Israel’s president pardons soldier who killed wounded Palestinian in 2016

President Isaac Herzog has effectively cleared the criminal record of Elor Azaria by shortening the remaining erasure period on the former soldier’s manslaughter conviction. The move follows a request from Defence Minister Israel Katz and, according to the president’s office, took into account the passage of time, Azaria’s completion of his sentence and expressions of remorse. Herzog’s statement also said the pardon was issued in the spirit of Yom Kippur and did not overturn the original legal ruling.

Azaria, who served as an army medic at the time, was filmed in March 2016 shooting Abdel Fattah al-Sharif in the head after al-Sharif had stabbed and wounded a soldier. Israeli troops had previously shot al-Sharif and he lay on the ground for about 11 minutes before Azaria fired the fatal shot. A military court convicted Azaria of manslaughter in 2017 and sentenced him to 18 months in prison; the term was later reduced to 14 months, and he was released after serving nine months in May 2018.

The decision prompted criticism from senior military leaders. In a letter to the defence minister, Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Eyal Zamir and other officers noted that Azaria has not accepted responsibility or shown remorse even a decade after his conviction. The president’s office said it had considered the military’s position but judged that the circumstances warranted allowing Azaria to "open a new chapter." Katz welcomed the outcome on social media, saying it sends a message that soldiers and their families will not be abandoned.

The 2016 shooting provoked intense debate in Israel and drew international condemnation. The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs labeled the killing an "extrajudicial execution" and a "war crime," while the slain man’s family called the legal process a "farce" aimed at protecting Israel’s international image. The U.N. human rights office criticized the original sentence as overly lenient and warned it could reinforce a culture of impunity. In 2024, the U.S. government barred Azaria and his immediate family from entering the United States, citing the killing as an "extrajudicial" act.