Israeli President Clears Criminal Record of Former Soldier Who Shot Wounded Palestinian in 2016

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has expunged the criminal record of a former soldier convicted of manslaughter for killing a wounded Palestinian in Hebron a decade ago. Herzog announced on Saturday that he had shortened the remaining erasure period on Elor Azaria’s record, effectively clearing it despite opposition from Israeli army Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Eyal Zamir.

The military had opposed the move, with Zamir and other senior officers stating in a letter to the defence minister that Azaria “has refrained from expressing remorse and taking responsibility for his actions, even a decade after his conviction”. However, the president’s office noted that it took the military’s stance into account while deciding that the circumstances warranted allowing Azaria to “open a new chapter in his life”.

Azaria, who served as an army medic at the time, was filmed shooting Abdel Fattah al-Sharif in the head in March 2016. Al-Sharif had previously stabbed and wounded a soldier, but had already been shot by Israeli troops and lay on the ground for approximately 11 minutes before Azaria killed him. Following a 2017 military court conviction, Azaria was sentenced to 18 months in prison, which was later reduced to 14 months. He was released in May 2018 after serving nine months.

According to Herzog’s office, the decision was made following a request from Defence Minister Israel Katz in July and was based on “the passage of time, the completion of his sentence, and the remorse he has expressed”. The statement added that the pardon was issued “in the spirit” of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, without challenging the original legal proceedings.

Defence Minister Israel Katz welcomed the pardon in a post on X, stating that it “sends an important message to [Israeli army] soldiers and their families: We do not abandon our fighters”. Similarly, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir described the decision as “deeply moving” and urged Herzog to grant a comparable pardon to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces an ongoing corruption trial.

The 2016 shooting sparked intense debate within Israel and drew swift international condemnation. At the time, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the incident as an “extrajudicial execution” and a “war crime”, arguing that video evidence contradicted claims regarding the ethics of the Israeli army. The family of al-Sharif dismissed the legal proceedings as a “farce” aimed at improving Israel's international image rather than ensuring justice.

Additionally, the United Nations human rights office characterized the original sentence as “excessively lenient” and warned it risked “reinforcing the culture of impunity”. In 2024, the Joe Biden administration barred Azaria and his immediate family from entering the United States, citing an “extrajudicial killing”.