Herzog's Pardon for Azaria Continues Legacy of Impunity for Killing Palestinians

President Isaac Herzog's decision to erase the criminal record of Elor Azaria, a former soldier convicted of killing a wounded and unarmed Palestinian in Hebron, is viewed not as a gesture of reconciliation but as a political act legitimizing the killing of Palestinians. The move, according to the article, blurs the lines between unlawful killing and actions the state is willing to accept and justify.

In March 2016, Azaria shot and killed Abdel Fattah al-Sharif in Hebron. He was convicted of manslaughter, receiving a sentence of 18 months, which was later reduced. Azaria stated he would act the same way again. Herzog's decision to expunge the remainder of his criminal record sends a message to soldiers that even if they kill a Palestinian who is no longer a threat and are convicted, the political system will eventually clear their names.

The article argues this decision fits into a long historical pattern of leniency towards those who killed Palestinians, dating back to the 1948 war and its aftermath, when Israel pursued a policy of shooting Palestinian refugees attempting to return to their homes. It notes that past presidents have granted pardons or sentence reductions to security personnel convicted of offenses, often citing specific circumstances. However, the accumulation of these cases reveals a pattern where the legal process establishes a moral boundary, only for clemency or expungement to later nullify its significance.

This pattern, the author contends, includes leniency in cases like the 1956 Kafr Qasim massacre, the Jewish Underground, and police snipers in October 2000, ultimately paving the way for ongoing violence. The killing of Palestinians is presented as a tool for dispossession, enabling the emptying of land, preventing the return of refugees, confiscating property, and settling the land with a new population through the continuous threat of violence.

Herzog's action is described as a subtle signal to soldiers that killing a Palestinian will not necessarily ruin their future, as the state will eventually reintegrate them. This transforms an apparent exception into part of the state's moral order. The article also highlights a socio-ethnic dimension, suggesting a division of labor where lower-class individuals carry out violent acts, and the elite sanitizes the outcomes. The author concludes that erasing Azaria's record is not an end to his case but another link in a historical chain connecting past killings of Palestinians to the ongoing effort to reduce Palestinian presence in the land.