Jerusalem – Israel’s president has denied a request for pardon by an imprisoned soldier who was convicted of manslaughter for fatally shooting a wounded Palestinian attacker.
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A statement from President Reuven Rivlin’s office Sunday says he rejected the request by Elor Azaria because it would harm the “resilience” of Israel’s military. Rivlin said a chief value of the military was the “purity of arms,” or the use of weapons with only necessary force.
Azaria began serving an 18-month sentence in August. Israel’s military chief later reduced the sentence by four months.
Azaria was caught on video shooting a wounded Palestinian attacker. His case sharply divided the nation.
Israel’s military pushed for his prosecution, saying he violated its code of ethics. Many Israelis, particularly on the nationalist right, defended his actions.
Below: The following is the text of the President’s decision, passed on to Elor Azaria by the Legal Advisor to the President’s Office.
“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.
“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.
“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.
“As such, the President concluded that taking all considerations into account and in light of the above, an additional lightening of your sentence would harm the resilience to the Israel Defense Forces and the State of Israel. 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.
“In his decision, the President took into account the fact that you are expected to face a committee in approximately three months, to consider your release.”
How about calling these sub human murderers by their real name “Terrorists” not attackers, Has VIN also gone the political correct way? shame on them.
This is good, or this be a lesson to all those even thinking joining the tuma Zionist army.