Incident in Hebron on March 24, 2016

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The incident in Hebron on March 24, 2016 occurred in the Tel Rumeida district of Hebron in the West Bank against the background of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the height of the " Messer Intifada ". In the incident, a Palestinian assassin was shot dead by an Israeli soldier who had joined him after his knife attack on an Israeli soldier had been averted and when he had been seriously injured on the ground for eleven minutes. The soldier responsible was sentenced by a military court for manslaughter to a later reduced prison sentence, of which he served around nine months until his early release. The event sparked heated debates in Israel and the world.

Happening

Crime scene (2017)

According to the Israeli authorities, two Palestinians stabbed an Israeli soldier on patrol at the mouth of the road and injured him. Thereupon the two alleged assassins were shot and were incapable of fighting. The medical soldier called Elor Azaria took care of his injured comrade. After the injured man had been transported away , he killed one of the two Palestinians lying on the ground, 21-year-old Abdel Fattah al-Sharif, at 8.29 a.m. local time with a shot in the head from a few meters away. The knife attack was eleven minutes ago. A neighbor filmed what was happening from the roof of a nearby house. The video was published by the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem and sparked a public debate.

The second alleged attacker, Ramzi al-Qasrawi, was already dead by the time Sharif was shot. During a later B'Tselem research, Palestinian residents stated that he, too, had been shot before their eyes by an Israeli soldier when he was already lay defenseless on the ground. This account, for which there was no video evidence, was rejected by the Israeli army.

Investigations

The medic, whose identity could not be disclosed at first, was arrested before the video was released. After consulting a lawyer, Azaria appealed to self-defense because he suspected an explosive belt on the Palestinian. He was released from open custody on April 1, 2016.

On April 18, 2016, the identity of 18-year-old Sergeant Elor Azaria was revealed and manslaughter charges were brought.

At the autopsy, which took place in the presence of a Palestinian coroner, it was found that al-Sharif had died from the headshot; the first few shots in an arm, shoulder, abdomen and lower body were not fatal.

The investigation also revealed that the right-wing extremist rescue driver Ofer Ohana from the Kirjat Arba settlement , who had arrived on site shortly after the attack, not only filmed and incited the soldiers, but also put a knife closer to the body of the dead man al-Sharif kicked, giving the impression that it was within his reach. He also only triggered the Azarias with his exclamation “The dog is moving!”. In the later trial he largely abstained from testifying in order not to incriminate himself.

Criminal proceedings

1st instance

The trial of Elor Azaria was on 9 May 2016 the Military Court in Jaffa opened. From the start, his lawyers complained that the soldier was being treated unfairly, as there would only have been disciplinary proceedings in similar cases. Indeed, it was the first manslaughter trial against a soldier since 2004, when Bedouin Taysir al-Heib was sentenced to eight years in prison for the killing of British activist Tom Hurndall .

The negotiation therefore attracted a lot of attention in Israel and the Palestinian Territories . Azaria's commander, Major Tom Naaman, testified in court that al-Sharif was no longer in danger and that there was no justification for the shooting.

On July 24, Azaria himself stood on the witness stand and testified that he had only "eliminated a threat" and feared for his life.

The defense named medical experts as witnesses to the discharge of Azaria: A pathologist described the autopsy at the time as amateur and, due to the lack of visible bleeding, saw no evidence that al-Sharif was still alive when Azaria shot him. A psychiatrist certified Azaria had sleep disorders that could have influenced his actions. The same psychiatrist also certified that Azaria had learning disabilities and that he had difficulty reading his interview documents. The prosecutor replied that Azaria had also completed a military medical course with 93 (out of 100) points. The defense did not like that at all, and they interjected that the prosecutor should not quote such military details.

On November 23, the prosecution and defense made their closing speeches . On January 4, 2017, Azaria was found guilty of manslaughter and of maladministration. The judges denied that al-Sharifi was in danger and that he was no longer alive when Azaria shot him. During the delivery of the verdict, several hundred demonstrators demanded the release of the accused in front of the building.

As is customary in Israel, the punishment was announced at a later date. On February 21, the court sentenced him to 18 months' imprisonment and demotion. The prosecution had claimed between three and five years.

2nd instance

Both the prosecution and the defense immediately appealed the verdict. Azaria was represented by the lawyer Joram Scheftel, who had obtained the acquittal for John Demjanjuk in 1993. On July 17, 2017, Azaria was released from house arrest until the appeal hearing, which took place on July 30, 2017 before the military appeals court, consisting of five judges. In this case, the guilty verdict for manslaughter and the extent of the sentence were fully confirmed. Three of the five judges voted in favor, with the other two believing that Azaria should have been charged with murder. Right-wing politicians, including Benjamin Netanyahu, then advised the family not to appeal to the Supreme Court and instead seek a pardon. For that, however, it takes a visible repentance that Azaria did not show. A pardon would have to be requested from the Chief of the General Staff and granted by him personally. However, the family asked to know the extent of the reduction in the sentence beforehand. In addition, the defense lawyer insulted Scheftel one day after the verdict, General Eizenkot as a “fat bureaucrat in a sewer office”, whereupon he ruled out any negotiations with the family. Alternatively, the pardon could have been given by the President. In any case, a start of detention on August 9th and a certain waiting period in the military prison were required.

Detention

Elor Azaria started his year and a half prison sentence on August 9, 2017 in a military prison near his home in Ramla . On September 27, Chief of Staff Eizenkot reduced the sentence by four months, despite the fact that the Chief Military Attorney had spoken out against a reduction in the sentence because of the convict's lack of remorse. This reduced the planned term of imprisonment to 14 months. On March 19, 2018, he was also released from a third of his imprisonment for good conduct, reducing the prison sentence from 18 to just nine months. He was finally released on May 8, 2018, two days before the regular appointment, to attend his brother's wedding.

Reactions

Israeli reactions

Demonstration for Azaria in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv

Al-Sharif's body was released for burial two months later.

Even during the investigation, there were political statements and demonstrations in support of Azaria. On April 19, 2016, the day after the indictment, 2,000 people attended a rally in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv. The future Minister of Defense Avigdor Liebermann demonstratively appeared at the first hearing at the preliminary hearing.

The allegations that the then Defense Minister Moshe Jaalon Azaria had not defended more resolutely were the beginning of the rift with Prime Minister Netanyahu, which led to Jaalon's resignation in mid-May.

Netanyahu immediately condemned the act, but then demonstratively stood behind the soldiers and telephoned his parents. He even considered inviting the family to his residence.

According to a survey by the Israeli Democracy Institute in August 2016, a majority of 65 percent of Jewish Israelis supported Azaria's self-defense approach; among right-wing Israelis it was 83 percent. The conservative weekly Makor Rishon voted Azaria “Man of the Year” 2016.

Even before the verdict was pronounced, Education Minister Naftali Bennett advocated a pardon for the shooter if convicted.

Azaria's supporters used the slogan “Azaria is everyone's son” and demanded that he should not become the new Dreyfus . The day before the verdict, Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot spoke out against this slogan and stressed that an 18-year-old soldier is not “everyone's child in Israel”.

The judgment divided Israeli society. While some feared a weakening of the army in the fight against terrorism, others advocated the emphasis on moral values, which soldiers must also adhere to. As a result, right-wing activists made threats against individual judges in social networks, which also led to arrests. Some judges and the prosecutor then received police protection.

The evening after the verdict, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , among others, spoke out in favor of pardoning Azaria.

Some Israeli commentators suggested that the wrong person was on trial here. It is the responsibility of the army command that young soldiers in such a sensitive area are deployed in such situations.

Since the judgment also confirmed that the military regulations for the use of weapons were disregarded, the army saw no reason to change anything, as disregard would be punished. While some doubted this and only attributed the outcome of the case to the fact that there had been such clear video evidence, many now feared that they or their sons might find themselves in a similar situation. They wanted a guarantee that there would be no more charges. Fear of it could prevent soldiers from killing an attacker. A poll in Israel showed that 47 percent of the population are in favor of "immediately shooting any Palestinian who perpetrates a terrorist attack against Jews."

In the videos, the disinterest of the rescue workers in the Palestinian injured was clearly evident. For eleven minutes, all the paramedics present only looked after the slightly injured soldier. The General Director of Magen David Adom (MDA) made it clear that this behavior was not in accordance with the rules of the organization . Wounded assassins are also to be treated, but the release of explosives experts has to be awaited. The teams operating in Hebron no longer officially belong to Magen David Adom, but to the outsourced rescue service for Judea and Samaria, which is operated by the settlements, but are trained by the MDA and still use their symbols and lettering. The ambulance driver Ofer Ohana who was involved in the incident has now been separated.

At the invitation of a right-wing extremist group, Elor Azaria returned to Hebron for the first time after his release from prison in early July 2018 and was welcomed as a hero by the Israeli settlers there. Among other things, he visited the crime scene.

International reactions

After the incident became known through the distribution of the video, Christof Heyns , UN Special Representative for Extrajudicial and Arbitrary Executions , expressed his indignation at the killing of the Palestinian and stated that the images showed “all indications of a clear case of an extrajudicial execution”. He also criticized the fact that none of the soldiers standing around appeared to be worried about the incident and that the paramedics did not take care of the seriously injured Palestinian.

After the sentence was assessed by the military tribunal, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned what it judged to be too lenient as "unacceptable" in view of the fact that Israeli courts had sentenced Palestinian children, for example, to three years in prison for the much lesser offense of throwing stones.

Amnesty International welcomed the court ruling and called for further proceedings in similar cases. To this end, the organization Israel had already submitted a list of 20 cases they had examined in September 2016.

documentary

  • Korbinian Kalleder: The Fall of Elor Azaria. 43 minutes, Germany 2018, first broadcast in the series Die Story des WDR Fernsehen on October 10, 2018 ( available online on the WDR website)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The video published by B'Tselem on YouTube , accessed November 14, 2018.
  2. ↑ Testimonies: Prior to incident for which Elor Azaria is facing charges, Ramzi Qasrawi was also executed. In: btselem.org. B'Tselem, June 6, 2016, accessed November 14, 2018 (English, press release).
  3. ↑ Judah Ari Gross, Roul Wootliff: Israeli group: 2nd Palestinian attacker 'Executed' in Hebron incident - The Times of Israel. In: timesofisrael.com. The Times of Israel, June 6, 2016, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  4. ↑ Gili Cohen: Soldier said Palestinian assailant 'needs to die' before shooting, army probe finds. In: Ha-Aretz . March 27, 2016, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  5. ↑ Gili Cohen: Israeli soldier who shot wounded Palestinian assailant charged with manslaughter. In: Ha-Aretz. June 14, 2015, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  6. ^ Gili Cohen: Autopsy reveals Hebron assailant killed by head shot, coroners say. In: Ha-Aretz. April 13, 2016, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  7. ↑ Yonah Jeremy Bob: Prosecutor accuses activist, soldier of cover-up in Hebron shooter Trial. In: jpost.com. July 5, 2016, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  8. ↑ a b Jacob Magid: Elor Azaria receives hero's welcome on return to scene of Hebron shooting. In: timesofisrael.com. The Times of Israel, July 3, 2018, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  9. ↑ Lizzie Dearden: Video of changing the position of the knife. In: The Independent . June 3, 2016, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  10. ↑ Gili Cohen: New footage in Hebron shooting shows knife kicked closer to slain Palestinian assailant. In: Ha-Aretz. June 2, 2016, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  11. ↑ Gili Cohen: Medic at Hebron soldier's manslaughter trial refuses to answer Military Police queries. In: Ha-Aretz. July 5, 2017, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  12. ↑ Gili Cohen: Trial of soldier who shot dead wounded Palestinian assailant in Hebron opens - Israel News. In: Ha-Aretz. May 9, 2016, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  13. ↑ Nicola Abé: Scandal in Israel: "The terrorist was still alive. He had to die". In: Spiegel Online . October 19, 2016, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  14. ↑ New York Times, June 16, 2016.
  15. ↑ Gili Cohen: At Azaria's trial, expert says autopsy fails to show head shot killed Palestinian. In: Ha-Aretz. September 15, 2016, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  16. ↑ Read the Hebron shooter's verdict: 'The shooting wasn't based on any inherent danger'. In: Ha-Aretz. January 4, 2016, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  17. ↑ shooting victim Palestinian bombers: military court sentenced Israeli soldiers. In: Spiegel Online . January 4, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2018 .
  18. ↑ Gili Cohen: Judges take issue with Azaria defense, saying testimony unreliable. In: Ha-Aretz. January 4, 2017, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  19. ↑ Susanne Knaul: No acquittal for Hebron shooters. In: DiePresse.com. July 30, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2018 .
  20. ↑ Gili Cohen: 'Hebron shooter' sent to house arrest until appeal decided at month's end. In: Ha-Aretz. July 17, 2017, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  21. ↑ Yossi Verter: Netanyahu joins mob that sees Hebron shooter's judges as traitors who should stand trial. In: Ha-Aretz. July 31, 2017, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  22. ↑ Barak Ravid, Jonathan Lis, Gili Cohen, Amos Harel: Netanyahu, two ministers call for pardon of Hebron shooter after appeal loss. In: Ha-Aretz. July 30, 2017, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  23. ↑ Amos Harel: Hebron shooter's best shot at a shorter sentence: Clemency from the Israeli army chief. In: Ha-Aretz. June 1, 2017, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  24. ↑ Asaria goes into custody. In: israelnetz.com. August 9, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2018 .
  25. ↑ Amos Harel: Israeli army chief cuts Hebron shooter's sentence by four months. In: Ha-Aretz. September 27, 2017, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  26. ↑ Yaniv Kubovich, Noa Landau: Elor Azaria, Israeli soldier convicted of killing a wounded Palestinian terrorist, set free after nine months. In: Ha-Aretz. May 18, 2018, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  27. ↑ Israeli soldier released early from custody. In: sueddeutsche.de. May 8, 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2018 .
  28. ↑ Jack Khoury: Two months later, Hebron buries Palestinian assailant killed by Israeli soldier. In: Ha-Aretz. May 28, 2016, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  29. ^ Gili Cohen, Barak Ravid, Jonathan Lis: Thousands rally for soldier who shot Palestinian assailant; Netanyahu urges calm - Israel News. In: Ha-Aretz. April 19, 2016, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  30. ↑ Amos Harel: Israeli defense minister's days were numbered after Hebron shooting in March. In: Ha-Aretz. May 21, 2016, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  31. ^ Judy Maltz: How Israeli politicians flipped and flopped over the Hebron shooter's trial. In: Ha-Aretz. January 4, 2017, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  32. ↑ Amos Harel, Gili Cohen: Netanyahu mulled hosting parents of soldier charged with Hebron manslaughter. In: Ha-Aretz. June 16, 2016, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  33. ↑ limu / dpa: 18 months imprisonment for killing an injured Palestinian. In: FAZ.net . February 21, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2018 .
  34. ^ Gili Cohen: Minister Bennett calls to pardon Hebron shooter if convicted. In: Ha-Aretz. October 8, 2016, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  35. ↑ Zvi Bar'el: How to IDF soldier Suspected of manslaughter has evolved into Israel's new Dreyfus. In: Ha-Aretz. July 28, 2016, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  36. ↑ Eisenkot: 18-year-old man who joins IDF is a soldier, not 'everyone's son'. In: ynetnews.com. March 1, 2017, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  37. ↑ Soldier Condemned: The conviction puts Israel to the test. In: orf.at. January 5, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2018 .
  38. ↑ Injured assassin shot dead: Netanyahu demands pardon for convicted soldiers. In: Spiegel Online . January 5, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2018 .
  39. ↑ Anshel Pfeffer: Hebron shooter convicted at last, but those responsible will never be put to trial. In: Ha-Aretz. January 4, 2017, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  40. ↑ Amira Hass: Hebron shooter Elor Azaria is indeed the norm. In: Ha-Aretz. January 5, 2017, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  41. ↑ Susanne Knaul: Israel: guilty verdict for headshot. In: diepresse.com. January 4, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2018 .
  42. ↑ Shay Fogelman: Why wasn't the hurt Palestinian assailant treated? A look at the scene, from all the angles. In: Ha-Aretz. May 2, 2016, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  43. ^ OHCHR - Hebron killing: “All the signs of an extrajudicial execution” - UN expert expresses outrage. In: ohchr.org. March 30, 2016, accessed on November 14, 2018 (press release from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights).
  44. ↑ After headshot ruling: UN condemns a mild prison sentence for Israeli soldiers. In: Spiegel Online . February 24, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2018 .
  45. ^ Conviction of Israeli soldier must pave the way for justice for unlawful killings. In: amnesty.org. January 4, 2017, accessed November 14, 2018 .

Coordinates: 31 ° 31 '26.4 "  N , 35 ° 6' 14.4"  E