Israeli soldier who killed unarmed Palestinian: 'I'm Not Sorry'

CARACAS, Aug 30: Elor Azaria, the Israeli soldier who shot dead a wounded Palestinian laying on the ground immobilized, said in his first interview since being released from prison early that he feels "no remorse for killing a terrorist" and would do the same again.

"I have no remorse whatsoever," said Azaria. "No second-guessing at all. There is no doubt that if you took me back to those seconds in Hebron, when the event was unfolding, I would act exactly the same all over again because that is what had to be done."

The remarks of 22-year-old Azaria were part of an interview excerpt published by right-wing newspaper Israel Hayom on Wednesday in which he thanked Israelis who supported him after the manslaughter and during his legal process.

"The Israeli people have become one, they stood by us throughout the entire ordeal, and I would like to thank them for the help they provided me and my family at any given moment," he continued. "This is far from obvious. There are simply no other people like the Israeli people," he said.

Azaria shot in the head the 21-year-old Palestinian Abd al-Fattah Yusri al-Sharif after an attempted knife attack in Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, on March 2016. The Palestinian youngster was lying on the ground, representing so threat whatsoever, but Azaria claims he training led him to pull the trigger.

"I saw him with a heavy black coat and I could hear people shouting, 'Someone shoot him.’ There was a knife just next to him. I was there on site, I saw that the knife was there,” he continued.

Azaria said he thought the man could be carrying an explosive device under his coat and told the company and platoon commanders to move away as he approached the laying man to shot him in the head.

"I acted on my instincts in the spur of the moment – it all culminated into that point and I acted in full accordance with what I was trained to do from the moment I became a combat soldier," he said.

Ramzi Aziz al-Tamimi al-Qasrawi, 21, was also killed by the Israeli occupation forces during the event.

The murder was caught on camera and shared on social media, which caused a political scandal in Israel and elsewhere. He was taken into the trial, convicted for manslaughter and sentenced to only 18 months in prison. His sentence was later reduced to 14 months by the military, but he was released after nine.

Even though Azaria claimed he acted in accordance with his training, two officers testified that they heard him saying that Sharif “deserved to die” after shooting him and the appeal judge said his version of the events changed frequently and was inconsistent.

Also, another video surfaced showing an unknown person kicking the knife closer to the body after being shot in the head.

Azaria was shocked that the military court was actually holding him accountable for the murder and argues that the judicial system used him as a scapegoat, punishing him for his acts instead of taking responsibility as an institution and throwing him “under the bus just so the Palestinians wouldn’t launch a day of rage.”

"I was told by the interrogator, 'You are going to be charged with murdering a Palestinian.' I was shocked and answered, 'What murder? What's wrong with you? What Palestinian? He's a terrorist.' Even the chief interrogator couldn't come to terms with the truth I was saying. Later I realized that they were trying to fall in line with what the senior military officials had already told the press."

But also, other human rights organizations such as B’Tselem, the one that published the videos of the execution, argue the exact opposite thing, that soldiers accused of human rights violations against Palestinians are rarely prosecuted by the authorities, and cases such as Azaria’s are used to give the impression that the judicial system actually works.

The former soldier claims the trial was influenced by the declarations of the then Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon and other officials to the press, who condemned Azaria’s actions before the interrogation had taken place.

“I have nothing to be sorry for. No one can get into the head of a combat soldier who is on active duty in hostile territory,” he continued. “I said I wasn't going to confess and wasn't going to express remorse, and I know that I acted appropriately. If I had had a fair trial I would have been fully acquitted and a lot of people would have had to lower their gaze."

But the whole event didn’t affect his patriotism and loyalty to the Israel Occupation Forces. Azaria was welcomed as a hero when he left prison in May and has enjoyed celebrity status since then, getting free drinks, full paid holidays and scholarship offers.

He has also declared he wants to study law to help other military officers in situations similar to his.

He said the affair has not undermined his sense of patriotism.

"I will always love my country and the IDF," Azaria said, noting that despite his trial and conviction he intends to carry out military reserve duty.