Israeli president wipes Elor Azaria's criminal record for killing wounded Palestinian — defying his own army chief
From the Newshound archive · first published 19 September 2026 · last updated 21 September 2026.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog has expunged the criminal record of Elor Azaria, the combat medic convicted of manslaughter for shooting dead a badly wounded and immobilised Palestinian in Hebron in March 2016. Herzog acted on the recommendation of Defence Minister Israel Katz and cited the approach of Yom Kippur, the time elapsed since sentencing, and Azaria's expressed remorse — despite a formal letter from the military's own chief of staff, Lieutenant-General Eyal Zamir, warning against the decision. Azaria, who was 20 when sentenced, had been filmed shooting Abdel Fattah al-Sharif in the head as al-Sharif lay on the ground, unarmed, eleven minutes after being shot by Israeli troops. The pardon removes the last legal consequence of the 2017 conviction and effectively closes a case that has bitterly divided Israel for a decade.
Zamir and senior officers argued Azaria had 'refrained from expressing remorse and taking responsibility for his actions, even a decade after his conviction'.
Katz declared the decision 'sends an important message to soldiers and their families: we do not abandon our fighters'.
Far-right security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called the pardon 'deeply moving' and urged Herzog to grant similar clemency to Prime Minister Netanyahu.