21 nov 2017

A Jewish rabbi has urged Israeli occupation forces to “finish off” wounded Palestinians who carry out resistance attacks, and to refrain from providing them with medical treatment or first aid, leaving them to bleed to death.
The right-wing, Rabbi Baruch Marzel, who lives in an illegal settlement in Hebron, claims that “since the Elor Azarya affair, terrorists are not killed and soldiers do not finish the job and do not make sure that the terrorist is dead.”
However, according to the PNN, the facts on the ground indicate that Israelis have been continuously targeting unarmed Palestinians. The most recent incident was when a member of the Givati Brigade killed a young Palestinian man, Mohammed Musa, 29, and left him to bleed to death. His sister Latifa Musa, 33, was wounded, which forced the brigade’s leadership in the occupied West Bank to reprimand the soldier and dismiss another officer.
Elor Azarya shot Abdul Fattah Al-Sharif as he lay motionless on the floor in occupied Hebron on 24 March 2016. After pulling the trigger Azaria said: “He deserved to die.”
Marzel also told Israel’s Channel 7: “The terrorist is evacuated by [Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency medical service] MDA to our hospitals and receives treatment for hundreds of thousands of shekels alongside the wounded Jew.
The time has come for the Israeli government to stop humiliating its victims and the people of Israel. The terrorist must not be treated. A terrorist must die as soon as he comes to harm Jews.”
Israeli rabbi calls for execution of injured Palestinians
Israeli right-wing activist Baruch Marzel called for the execution of all Palestinians who are shot and injured during alleged anti-occupation attacks instead of providing them with medical treatment.
In an interview with Arutz Sheva, Marzel, a rabbi, said, "I've noticed that the State of Israel has been deteriorating since the Elor Azariya affair.
Terrorists are not killed and soldiers do not finish the job and do not make sure that the terrorist is dead. The terrorist is evacuated by MDA to our hospitals and receives treatment for hundreds of thousands of shekels alongside the wounded Jew.”
“The time has come for the Israeli government to stop humiliating its victims and the people of Israel. The terrorist must not be treated. A terrorist must die as soon as he comes to harm Jews," he continued.
“Have we gone crazy? To give treatment to a terrorist instead of killing him - that’s our morality? ‘He who comes to kill you, pamper him first.”
The Israeli soldier Elor Azariya who shot and killed a wounded Palestinian, who was incapacitated having already been shot, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for manslaughter.
The March 24 shooting, in the occupied West Bank city of al-Khalil, was filmed by activists from the Israeli B'Tselem human rights group.
That video shows the young Palestinian lying on the ground while bleeding.
Azariya then delivers the fatal blow, shooting him again in the head without any provocation.
The right-wing, Rabbi Baruch Marzel, who lives in an illegal settlement in Hebron, claims that “since the Elor Azarya affair, terrorists are not killed and soldiers do not finish the job and do not make sure that the terrorist is dead.”
However, according to the PNN, the facts on the ground indicate that Israelis have been continuously targeting unarmed Palestinians. The most recent incident was when a member of the Givati Brigade killed a young Palestinian man, Mohammed Musa, 29, and left him to bleed to death. His sister Latifa Musa, 33, was wounded, which forced the brigade’s leadership in the occupied West Bank to reprimand the soldier and dismiss another officer.
Elor Azarya shot Abdul Fattah Al-Sharif as he lay motionless on the floor in occupied Hebron on 24 March 2016. After pulling the trigger Azaria said: “He deserved to die.”
Marzel also told Israel’s Channel 7: “The terrorist is evacuated by [Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency medical service] MDA to our hospitals and receives treatment for hundreds of thousands of shekels alongside the wounded Jew.
The time has come for the Israeli government to stop humiliating its victims and the people of Israel. The terrorist must not be treated. A terrorist must die as soon as he comes to harm Jews.”
Israeli rabbi calls for execution of injured Palestinians
Israeli right-wing activist Baruch Marzel called for the execution of all Palestinians who are shot and injured during alleged anti-occupation attacks instead of providing them with medical treatment.
In an interview with Arutz Sheva, Marzel, a rabbi, said, "I've noticed that the State of Israel has been deteriorating since the Elor Azariya affair.
Terrorists are not killed and soldiers do not finish the job and do not make sure that the terrorist is dead. The terrorist is evacuated by MDA to our hospitals and receives treatment for hundreds of thousands of shekels alongside the wounded Jew.”
“The time has come for the Israeli government to stop humiliating its victims and the people of Israel. The terrorist must not be treated. A terrorist must die as soon as he comes to harm Jews," he continued.
“Have we gone crazy? To give treatment to a terrorist instead of killing him - that’s our morality? ‘He who comes to kill you, pamper him first.”
The Israeli soldier Elor Azariya who shot and killed a wounded Palestinian, who was incapacitated having already been shot, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for manslaughter.
The March 24 shooting, in the occupied West Bank city of al-Khalil, was filmed by activists from the Israeli B'Tselem human rights group.
That video shows the young Palestinian lying on the ground while bleeding.
Azariya then delivers the fatal blow, shooting him again in the head without any provocation.
19 nov 2017

President Rivlin writes to Elor Azaria—who is serving a prison sentence for killing a neutralized terrorist in Hebron—explaining that 'another easing of the punishment will harm the resilience to the IDF and the State of Israel;' Lieberman 'regrets decision. President had the chance to end this saga.'
President Reuven Rivlin rejected a request Sunday to pardon the former IDF soldier Elor Azaria, who was convicted of manslaughter earlier this year and imprisoned for shooting to death a neutralized terrorist in March 2016, saying that to grant him early release would have negative implications for both the army and the state.
"The President concluded that taking all considerations into account ... an additional lightening of your sentence would harm the resilience to the Israel Defense Forces and the State of Israel," Rivlin wrote in a letter to Azaria explaining his decision.
"The values of the Israel Defense Forces, and among them the Purity of Arms, are the core foundation of the strength of the Israel Defense Forces, and have always stood strong for us in the just struggle for our right to a safe, national home, and in the building a robust society," the letter continued.
"The President has given his opinion regarding the offenses committed by you and their circumstances, the content of your written application, and all the material and opinions brought before him, and has decided to reject the application," Azaria was informed.
“From examining the material before him, the President learned that in passing sentence, the military court took into account the circumstances raised by you—which appear in part in this pardon request—as consideration of leniency, and noted it took them into account in passing a lighter sentence."
Azaria filed his request a month ago, telling the president: "I unfortunately did not receive a just trial. This is how I feel, and nothing can change it. In any case, I ask for a measure of justice and mercy, the essence of the presidential pardon, from His Honor the President in this request."
In September, IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot reduced Azaria’s prison sentence by four months after he was sentenced to a year and a half in prison in February, dividing the country and giving rise to a string of legal appeals.
In justifying his decision, Rivlin reminded Azaria that Eisenkot had already demonstrated compassion.
“In addition, in September 2017, the Chief of Staff saw fit to further ease your sentence and reduce the punishment by four months from the prison sentence imposed upon you, for reasons of compassion and while taking into consideration your military service as a soldier in the operational arena," Rivlin's letter stated.
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who publicly claimed he supported pardoning Azaria, issued a statement expressing “regret” following the announcement of Rivlin’s decision.
“I appreciate and admire the President of the State, but I regret his decision to reject the pardon request by the soldier Elor Azaira,” Lieberman wrote.
“President Rivlin had the opportunity to put an end to this affair that rocked Israeli society. Apart from the personal price paid by the soldier and his family, I believed and still believe that in this unique case it was also appropriate to consider the public interest, the need to heal the rifts in society, and the impact of the event and the trial on IDF soldiers and the youth who are about to be recruited,” he continued.
“Even in this moment,” he concluded, “we cannot forget that we are talking about a exceptional soldier and a terrorist who came to kill.”
A more vitriolic condemnation of Rivlin’s decision was expressed by Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev, who scolded the president for “harming the pardoning institution and choosing to abandon Elor."
“The pardon institution is intended to discuss these exact kind of cases, to close the gap between the official law and the sense of justice and the heart of the general public,” Regev wrote.
“The president had the chance to send the message to soldiers that even if they make mistakes, they will be judged on the disciplinary level but they will not be abandoned,” she added.
Azaria’s family later responded to Rivlin’s decision, “with disappointment and regret.”
“The family is angry about the fact that Elor’s father, Charlie, heard about the decision through the media while he was waiting in hospital to undergo an MRI scan due to a deterioration in his medical state,” the family vented in a statement.
“The president could have put an end to this terribly agonizing journey that has befallen the family, put an end to the argument that has torn the nation apart and finished this needless imprisonment of our Elor,” the statement continued.
“There was room for more compassion when we are talking about an exceptional combat soldier who acted against a terrorist who came to murder soldiers and civilians in Hebron. As a result of the incident, Charlie suffered a stroke a few months ago and recently his situation deteriorated again.
“It is regrettable that the President's Residence preferred to issue a statement to the media before bothering to at least inform the family," the statement continued.
“The family will continue to act with determination in order to bring about the release of Elor from prison and is extremely disappointed with the president’s lack of sensitivity.”
President Reuven Rivlin rejected a request Sunday to pardon the former IDF soldier Elor Azaria, who was convicted of manslaughter earlier this year and imprisoned for shooting to death a neutralized terrorist in March 2016, saying that to grant him early release would have negative implications for both the army and the state.
"The President concluded that taking all considerations into account ... an additional lightening of your sentence would harm the resilience to the Israel Defense Forces and the State of Israel," Rivlin wrote in a letter to Azaria explaining his decision.
"The values of the Israel Defense Forces, and among them the Purity of Arms, are the core foundation of the strength of the Israel Defense Forces, and have always stood strong for us in the just struggle for our right to a safe, national home, and in the building a robust society," the letter continued.
"The President has given his opinion regarding the offenses committed by you and their circumstances, the content of your written application, and all the material and opinions brought before him, and has decided to reject the application," Azaria was informed.
“From examining the material before him, the President learned that in passing sentence, the military court took into account the circumstances raised by you—which appear in part in this pardon request—as consideration of leniency, and noted it took them into account in passing a lighter sentence."
Azaria filed his request a month ago, telling the president: "I unfortunately did not receive a just trial. This is how I feel, and nothing can change it. In any case, I ask for a measure of justice and mercy, the essence of the presidential pardon, from His Honor the President in this request."
In September, IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot reduced Azaria’s prison sentence by four months after he was sentenced to a year and a half in prison in February, dividing the country and giving rise to a string of legal appeals.
In justifying his decision, Rivlin reminded Azaria that Eisenkot had already demonstrated compassion.
“In addition, in September 2017, the Chief of Staff saw fit to further ease your sentence and reduce the punishment by four months from the prison sentence imposed upon you, for reasons of compassion and while taking into consideration your military service as a soldier in the operational arena," Rivlin's letter stated.
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who publicly claimed he supported pardoning Azaria, issued a statement expressing “regret” following the announcement of Rivlin’s decision.
“I appreciate and admire the President of the State, but I regret his decision to reject the pardon request by the soldier Elor Azaira,” Lieberman wrote.
“President Rivlin had the opportunity to put an end to this affair that rocked Israeli society. Apart from the personal price paid by the soldier and his family, I believed and still believe that in this unique case it was also appropriate to consider the public interest, the need to heal the rifts in society, and the impact of the event and the trial on IDF soldiers and the youth who are about to be recruited,” he continued.
“Even in this moment,” he concluded, “we cannot forget that we are talking about a exceptional soldier and a terrorist who came to kill.”
A more vitriolic condemnation of Rivlin’s decision was expressed by Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev, who scolded the president for “harming the pardoning institution and choosing to abandon Elor."
“The pardon institution is intended to discuss these exact kind of cases, to close the gap between the official law and the sense of justice and the heart of the general public,” Regev wrote.
“The president had the chance to send the message to soldiers that even if they make mistakes, they will be judged on the disciplinary level but they will not be abandoned,” she added.
Azaria’s family later responded to Rivlin’s decision, “with disappointment and regret.”
“The family is angry about the fact that Elor’s father, Charlie, heard about the decision through the media while he was waiting in hospital to undergo an MRI scan due to a deterioration in his medical state,” the family vented in a statement.
“The president could have put an end to this terribly agonizing journey that has befallen the family, put an end to the argument that has torn the nation apart and finished this needless imprisonment of our Elor,” the statement continued.
“There was room for more compassion when we are talking about an exceptional combat soldier who acted against a terrorist who came to murder soldiers and civilians in Hebron. As a result of the incident, Charlie suffered a stroke a few months ago and recently his situation deteriorated again.
“It is regrettable that the President's Residence preferred to issue a statement to the media before bothering to at least inform the family," the statement continued.
“The family will continue to act with determination in order to bring about the release of Elor from prison and is extremely disappointed with the president’s lack of sensitivity.”
6 nov 2017

Israeli Army Minister Avigdor Lieberman, on Sunday, sent an appeal to Israeli President Reuven Rivlin urging him to grant pardon to IOF soldier Elor Azaria, who is currently serving a 14-month prison sentence for deliberately killing a Palestinian injured detainee in March 2016.
"I would like to ask that you accept Elor Azaria's request, and grant a pardon for the remaining period of his prison term," Lieberman wrote in a letter to Rivlin, calling the shooting of the Palestinian "an operational mistake".
"People with much more senior positions than Azaria have been pardoned for acts similar or even more severe than Azaria," Lieberman wrote.
“We must put an end to the affair that shook the Israeli society, and at this time show leniency and mercy to the soldier,” he urged.
“We send our daughters and sons to defend the security of the state,” he wrote, “placing them in complex situations unlike any other in the world, and demanding that they act courageously, resolutely, professionally and morally.”
Azaria was convicted of “manslaughter” after he was caught on film in March 2016 shooting the Palestinian young man Abdel Fattah al-Sharif as he lay immobilized on the ground.
"I would like to ask that you accept Elor Azaria's request, and grant a pardon for the remaining period of his prison term," Lieberman wrote in a letter to Rivlin, calling the shooting of the Palestinian "an operational mistake".
"People with much more senior positions than Azaria have been pardoned for acts similar or even more severe than Azaria," Lieberman wrote.
“We must put an end to the affair that shook the Israeli society, and at this time show leniency and mercy to the soldier,” he urged.
“We send our daughters and sons to defend the security of the state,” he wrote, “placing them in complex situations unlike any other in the world, and demanding that they act courageously, resolutely, professionally and morally.”
Azaria was convicted of “manslaughter” after he was caught on film in March 2016 shooting the Palestinian young man Abdel Fattah al-Sharif as he lay immobilized on the ground.
1 oct 2017

Elor Azaria, an Israeli soldier who murdered a Palestinian in cold blood, just had his already-derisory sentence reduced by the army chief of staff.
Azaria became a hero to many in Israel after the incident last year at an illegal Israeli checkpoint in Hebron, a city in the occupied West Bank.
Abd al-Fattah Yusri al-Sharif and Ramzi Aziz al-Qasrawi, both 21, were shot dead by Israeli soldiers in March last year. The Israeli government accused them of stabbing and moderately wounding a soldier in the Tel Rumeida neighbourhood of Hebron’s Old City.
Azaria was caught on camera as he calmly and deliberately shot al-Sharif in the head as the youth lay badly wounded and completely subdued on the ground.
During the trial, Azaria was offered support from the highest political levels, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling for him to be pardoned altogether.
In February this year Azaria was sentenced to a derisory 18 months in prison.
If Palestinian lives were deemed of any value at all in in Israel, Azaria would have been given life in prison. Instead he was given a slap on the wrist. And now, his sentence has been reduced on military order to 14 months.
After this has been reduced by another six months, as seems likely, for “good behaviour,” Azaria will likely spend no more than eight months in jail. Little illustrates the apartheid nature of Israeli “justice” better than this.
By way of contrast, 21-year-old Ahmad Yasser Baraghithi was in 2014 sentenced to eight years in jail for allegedly throwing stones at Israeli occupation forces in Jerusalem during Palestinian protests against Israeli occupation. That’s eight years, not the token eight months the killer Azaria seems likely to serve.
The fact that Azaria will serve any time in jail at all is only down to the brave Palestinian volunteer who filmed the graphic video of Azaria calmly butchering al-Sharif. Israeli settlers on the scene are heard in the video shouting, “the terrorist is still alive,” and the “the dog is still alive.”
During the trial, the court heard that what Azaria did was very much routine practice by the Israeli army, who murder Palestinians in the West Bank on a routine basis.
“In terrorist incidents I witnessed, I saw with my own eyes that in every instance in which a terrorist attacked, soldiers shot him in the centre of mass until he was neutralized … and [shot] a bullet to the head to ensure that the terrorist could not set off a suicide belt or continue the attack. These soldiers never went to court,” a long-time civilian security chief for Jewish settlers in Hebron, told the court.
The Palestinians who filmed the video and gave it to Israeli human rights group B’Tselem have received death threats for exposing the crime.
Many other Palestinians spend far longer in jail than Azaria, often for “crimes” that amount to nothing more than simply speaking out against Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine.
Palestinian poet and photographer Dareen Tatour spent more than a year and three months in jail and house arrest for the “crime” of writing a poem entitled “Resist, my people, resist them.” The poem called on Palestinians to fight back against Israeli occupation, to “Resist the colonialist’s onslaught” and “Pay no mind to his agents among us.” Israel has a long history of criminalizing such literary expression of the Palestinian liberation struggle.
Lina Khattab is a young Palestinian who in 2014 and 2015 spent almost as much time in jail as Azaria seems likely to now. Her “crime” was to dance at a protest against Israeli occupation, which they had deemed an “illegal demonstration.” Pretty much any demonstration Palestinians organize against occupation in the West Bank is deemed “illegal” by Israel, which likes to portray a thin veneer of legality for its sponsors and political allies in the West.
Israel’s “military courts” are sham show trials which have no credibility whatsoever when it comes to Palestinian accused. Judges and prosecutors alike are all Israeli soldiers, and we are supposed to buy the Israeli propaganda which claims that this fix of a system will hold the occupation authorities to account? No.
Israel’s kangaroo courts system has a 99.7 per cent conviction rate – for Palestinians alone. This is yet another cold hard fact which makes Israel’s system in the occupied West Bank a racist one – a systematic apartheid reality, backed to the hilt by the US and the EU.
- Asa Winstanley is an investigative journalist living in London who writes about Palestine and the Middle East. He has been visiting Palestine since 2004 and is originally from south Wales. He writes for the award-winning Palestinian news site The Electronic Intifada where he is an associate editor and also a weekly column for the Middle East Monitor.
Azaria became a hero to many in Israel after the incident last year at an illegal Israeli checkpoint in Hebron, a city in the occupied West Bank.
Abd al-Fattah Yusri al-Sharif and Ramzi Aziz al-Qasrawi, both 21, were shot dead by Israeli soldiers in March last year. The Israeli government accused them of stabbing and moderately wounding a soldier in the Tel Rumeida neighbourhood of Hebron’s Old City.
Azaria was caught on camera as he calmly and deliberately shot al-Sharif in the head as the youth lay badly wounded and completely subdued on the ground.
During the trial, Azaria was offered support from the highest political levels, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling for him to be pardoned altogether.
In February this year Azaria was sentenced to a derisory 18 months in prison.
If Palestinian lives were deemed of any value at all in in Israel, Azaria would have been given life in prison. Instead he was given a slap on the wrist. And now, his sentence has been reduced on military order to 14 months.
After this has been reduced by another six months, as seems likely, for “good behaviour,” Azaria will likely spend no more than eight months in jail. Little illustrates the apartheid nature of Israeli “justice” better than this.
By way of contrast, 21-year-old Ahmad Yasser Baraghithi was in 2014 sentenced to eight years in jail for allegedly throwing stones at Israeli occupation forces in Jerusalem during Palestinian protests against Israeli occupation. That’s eight years, not the token eight months the killer Azaria seems likely to serve.
The fact that Azaria will serve any time in jail at all is only down to the brave Palestinian volunteer who filmed the graphic video of Azaria calmly butchering al-Sharif. Israeli settlers on the scene are heard in the video shouting, “the terrorist is still alive,” and the “the dog is still alive.”
During the trial, the court heard that what Azaria did was very much routine practice by the Israeli army, who murder Palestinians in the West Bank on a routine basis.
“In terrorist incidents I witnessed, I saw with my own eyes that in every instance in which a terrorist attacked, soldiers shot him in the centre of mass until he was neutralized … and [shot] a bullet to the head to ensure that the terrorist could not set off a suicide belt or continue the attack. These soldiers never went to court,” a long-time civilian security chief for Jewish settlers in Hebron, told the court.
The Palestinians who filmed the video and gave it to Israeli human rights group B’Tselem have received death threats for exposing the crime.
Many other Palestinians spend far longer in jail than Azaria, often for “crimes” that amount to nothing more than simply speaking out against Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine.
Palestinian poet and photographer Dareen Tatour spent more than a year and three months in jail and house arrest for the “crime” of writing a poem entitled “Resist, my people, resist them.” The poem called on Palestinians to fight back against Israeli occupation, to “Resist the colonialist’s onslaught” and “Pay no mind to his agents among us.” Israel has a long history of criminalizing such literary expression of the Palestinian liberation struggle.
Lina Khattab is a young Palestinian who in 2014 and 2015 spent almost as much time in jail as Azaria seems likely to now. Her “crime” was to dance at a protest against Israeli occupation, which they had deemed an “illegal demonstration.” Pretty much any demonstration Palestinians organize against occupation in the West Bank is deemed “illegal” by Israel, which likes to portray a thin veneer of legality for its sponsors and political allies in the West.
Israel’s “military courts” are sham show trials which have no credibility whatsoever when it comes to Palestinian accused. Judges and prosecutors alike are all Israeli soldiers, and we are supposed to buy the Israeli propaganda which claims that this fix of a system will hold the occupation authorities to account? No.
Israel’s kangaroo courts system has a 99.7 per cent conviction rate – for Palestinians alone. This is yet another cold hard fact which makes Israel’s system in the occupied West Bank a racist one – a systematic apartheid reality, backed to the hilt by the US and the EU.
- Asa Winstanley is an investigative journalist living in London who writes about Palestine and the Middle East. He has been visiting Palestine since 2004 and is originally from south Wales. He writes for the award-winning Palestinian news site The Electronic Intifada where he is an associate editor and also a weekly column for the Middle East Monitor.
26 sept 2017

Israel's military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot has reduced the prison sentence of soldier Elor Azaria convicted of cold-bloodedly shooting an incapacitated Palestinian attacker last year and killing him.
Azaria started an 18-month prison term in August after he was found guilty of manslaughter.
Eisenkot said in a letter published Wednesday that he was reducing Azaria's sentence by four months, citing "mercy considerations.”
The March 2016 shooting in the occupied West Bank city of al-Khalil was caught on video by a human rights group and spread widely online.
It showed a Palestinian young man called Abdel al-Fattah al-Sharif lying wounded on the ground, shot along with another Palestinian Aziz al-Qasrawi, after stabbing and wounding a soldier, according to the army.
Some 11 minutes after the initial shooting, Azaria, a military medic at the time of the incident, shot him in the head without any apparent provocation.
(Israeli court sentenced Ahmad Sa'ida, 17, to 11 months on charges of incitement on Facebook.)
Azaria started an 18-month prison term in August after he was found guilty of manslaughter.
Eisenkot said in a letter published Wednesday that he was reducing Azaria's sentence by four months, citing "mercy considerations.”
The March 2016 shooting in the occupied West Bank city of al-Khalil was caught on video by a human rights group and spread widely online.
It showed a Palestinian young man called Abdel al-Fattah al-Sharif lying wounded on the ground, shot along with another Palestinian Aziz al-Qasrawi, after stabbing and wounding a soldier, according to the army.
Some 11 minutes after the initial shooting, Azaria, a military medic at the time of the incident, shot him in the head without any apparent provocation.
(Israeli court sentenced Ahmad Sa'ida, 17, to 11 months on charges of incitement on Facebook.)