Herzog Expunges Criminal Record of Soldier Elor Azaria

President Isaac Herzog announced Saturday evening that he has decided to expunge the criminal record of IDF soldier Elor Azaria. Azaria was convicted of killing Palestinian Abdel Fattah al-Sharif, who was lying on the ground in Hebron. The decision was made contrary to the position of IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir.

A statement from the President's office indicated that the decision followed a review of "all the circumstances of the case and the considerations related to the request." The statement further explained that the decision was based on "harmony with the spirit of the period of mercy and forgiveness in the Jewish people, after a long time has passed since the incident, the fact that Azaria has served his sentence, and the statute of limitations on the crimes he committed expired long ago." Additional factors included Azaria's changed personal and family circumstances over the years, his desire to remove current obstacles to employment, and to start a new chapter in his life.

Azaria's conviction stemmed from an incident in March 2016 where he shot al-Sharif in the head while the Palestinian lay incapacitated on the ground in Hebron. The shooting was captured on video and sparked widespread debate in Israel and internationally. Azaria was ultimately convicted of manslaughter in January 2017 and sentenced to 18 months in prison, a sentence he served.