Liberman: Ministers should keep quiet about Azaria pardon

STUART WINER AND TIMES OF ISRAEL STAFF

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Politicians calling to overturn soldier’s manslaughter conviction ‘are self-serving,’ defense minister charges, and are not helping the soldier’s defense

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, center, tours the Israel Military Industries factory, January 4, 2017. (Roy Alima/Flash90)

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman on Thursday called on fellow cabinet members to refrain from demanding a pardon for an IDF soldier convicted of manslaughter Wednesday for killing an incapacitated Palestinian attacker in March, singling out Education Minister Naftali Bennett for particular criticism.
Liberman said the security establishment should be allowed to deal with the matter without political interference.

Liberman’s comments came after the Jaffa Military Court on Wednesday convicted Sgt. Elor Azaria, 19, for shooting Abdel Fattah al-Sharif minutes after Sharif had carried out a stabbing attack against two other soldiers in Hebron.

Right-wing politicians, accompanied by former Labor leader MK Shelly Yachimovich from the left, responded to the verdict by calling for a presidential pardon for Azaria. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said he backs a pardon for the soldier.

IDF Sgt. Elor Azaria, the Israeli soldier, who shot a Palestinian attacker in Hebron surrounded by family and supports as he arrives to hear his verdict in a courtroom at the Kirya military base, Tel Aviv, January 4, 2017. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

“I expect all ministers to show restraint, to keep quiet, and to let the security establishment deal with the issue in a quiet, responsible manner and with discretion,” Liberman told Army Radio in an interview. “I think it’s appropriate for the education minister to know how to read the law — and the law is clear. All the slogans that we are hearing at the moment are self-serving, and not for the benefit of Elor Azaria.”

The trial deeply divided the country, with politicians and current and former army generals alternately supporting or condemning Azaria’s actions.

Writing on Facebook Wednesday night, Netanyahu gave his backing to the calls for clemency, saying that he supported granting Azaria a pardon.

“This is a hard and painful day for us all — first and foremost for Elor and his family, for IDF soldiers, for many citizens, and for the parents of our soldiers, myself included,” the prime minister wrote.

“I urge all citizens to act responsibly toward the IDF, the officers, and the IDF chief… IDF soldiers are our sons and daughters, and they must remain above partisanship. I support pardoning Elor Azaria,” he wrote.

Jewish Home party leader and Education Minister Naftali Bennett, right, leads a special party faction meeting in the West Bank settlement city of Maale Adumin, January 2, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Earlier, Culture Minister Miri Regev (Likud) called for a pardon for Azaria. Bennett, head of the right-wing Jewish Home party, reiterated the call he had made the previous day before the verdict, saying Azaria must be pardoned “immediately, right now.”

Interior Minister Aryeh Deri (Shas) and Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud) also publicly called for Azaria to be pardoned. In a surprise development, coalition ministers were joined in their call by Zionist Union’s Shelly Yachimovich, former head of the Labor Party.

Likud MK Yehudah Glick, meanwhile, called for clemency, but not a full pardon, for Azaria.

Responding to the calls, President Reuven Rivlin’s office said in statement that defendants, rather than politicians, must apply for clemency and that requests will only be dealt with after all legal proceedings have ended.

The statement suggested Rivlin will not make any decision until after sentencing, giving him the option to commute the sentence rather than overturn it entirely.

Azaria’s sentencing will take place in just over a week, on January 15, according to the IDF. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years, though analysts expect him to receive less than that.

His defense team said immediately after the verdict that it would appeal.

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