IDF Court to Consider Azaria Sentence Today

Military prosecutors are expected to demand a 3-5 year sentence for IDF Sgt. Elor Azaria at a sentencing hearing Tuesday at the Defense Ministry in central Tel Aviv.

Defense lawyers have said they will appeal the conviction.

Azaria was convicted of  manslaughter on January 4 for the shooting death of a Palestinian terrorist in Hebron last March. Azaria was caught on video by the left-wing B’tselem organization shooting a wounded, disarmed terrorist who was lying on the ground and appeared to pose no immediate threat. The crime carries a maximum sentence of 20 years depending on the the particular circumstances of the crime and its perpetrator.

Avigdor Liberman, who supported Azaria prior to his appointment as defense minister, has called on Israelis to respect the court’s decision and asked the defense team to agree to a plea bargain that would reduce Azaria’s sentence in exchange for dropping the appeal.

Recent reports have also indicated that IDF military brass was urging the family to accept the conviction and forgo the appeal. Two weeks ago, Hebrew-Language Channel 2 released a controversial recording of Charlie Azaria, Elor’s father, and Kfir Brigade Commander Guy Hazut, in which the latter recommended cutting a deal with the prosecution to lighten his son’s sentence.

A lineup of politicians, including Prime Minister Netanyahu, Education Minister Naftali Bennett, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked and others have called for Azaria to be pardoned. The two authorities that could grant such a pardon are President Rivlin and IDF Chief of Staff  Lieutenant General Gadi Eizenkot.