An Israeli soldier who killed a wounded Palestinian man has been convicted of manslaughter.
Sergeant Elor Azaria, 20, shot Abdul Fattah al-Sharif in the head in the West Bank city of Hebron in March 2016.
At the time, al-Sharif was lying on the ground after being shot by other soldiers while he carried out a stabbing attack.
Footage of the incident appeared to show the Palestinian motionless.
Lawyers for Azaria claimed he shot al-Sharif because he believed the man had a hidden bomb.
But Judge Colonel Maya Heller said Azaria had no reason to open fire and called his testimony "evolving and evasive".
She added: "The fact that the man on the ground was a terrorist does not justify a disproportionate response."
Azaria, who will be sentenced at a later date, faces up to 20 years in prison.
Following the verdict, hundreds of demonstrators near the courtroom in Tel Aviv blocked a road and clashed with police.
Israeli defence minister Avigdor Lieberman said he agreed with the "difficult verdict", while military prosecutor Lt Col Nadav Weissman called the decision "important, clear, decisive".
No comments:
Post a Comment