Israeli president rejects request to pardon soldier for killing Palestinian
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E-mail Xinhua, November 20, 2017
JERUSALEM, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- Israel's President Reuven Rivlin rejected on Sunday a request to pardon a soldier who shot dead an incapacitated Palestinian knifeman, despite calls by the country's top political leaders.
Sgt. Elor Azaria was found guilty of manslaughter and a military court sentenced him 18 months in prison, of which Azaria will have to serve only 14 because the Israeli chief of staff slashed his punishment by four months.
He started to serve his punishment in August, after a series of appeals to cancel his conviction.
Azaria also appealed the president for a full clemency to cancel his sentence.
Earlier this month, Israel's Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman also asked Rivlin to pardon Azaria, saying releasing him "serves the public interest" and would help "stitch together the rips" in Israeli society.
Liberman defined the deadly shooting of Abdel Fattah al-Sharif while he was lying incapacitated on the road, as "an operational mistake."
On March 24, 2016, Azaria was a 19-year-old military medic in Hebron when al-Sharif, 21, and Ramzi Aziz al-Qasarwi carried out a knife attack, lightly wounding a soldier.
Troops shot dead al-Qasarwi and gravely wounded al-Sharif. Al-Sharif was lying on the ground, motionless, when Azaria arrived at the scene and shot a single bullet to his head.
The deadly shooting was caught on a video by a human rights organization and spread widely on social networks.
The case has deeply divided the Israeli society. While senior military officers condemned the act as a serious breach of military orders, many Israelis hailed Azaria as a "hero."
Many right-wing leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have spoken out in favor of Azaria being pardoned. Enditem
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