Herzog wipes record of soldier convicted in 2016 Hebron killing despite army objection

Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Saturday approved a request to clear the criminal record of Elor Azaria, a former soldier convicted of manslaughter for killing a wounded Palestinian in Hebron in 2016, Middle East Eye reported, citing Haaretz. The decision came over the objection of the Israeli military, whose chief of staff had told the president that Azaria has never expressed remorse.

Defense Minister Israel Katz had written to Herzog in July asking him to approve Azaria's application for expungement. Herzog announced on Saturday evening that he had shortened the remaining period before the record could be cleared, effectively erasing it.

Herzog said he "decided to grant the request of Elor Azaria to erase the remaining period of his criminal record and continue with his life," according to an AFP report carried by Arab News. A statement from his office said "the circumstances, the length of time passed, and the sorrow Azaria expressed justify enabling him to be allowed to begin a new chapter in his life." The office added that the decision was taken in the spirit of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which begins on Sunday evening.

The 2016 shooting and trial

Azaria, a sergeant and military medic at the time, shot Abdel Fattah al-Sharif in the head. Al-Sharif had stabbed and wounded a soldier but had already been shot by Israeli troops and had been lying on the ground for about 11 minutes before Azaria fired, AFP reported. At trial, Azaria argued that he feared the Palestinian was wearing an explosive belt, a claim the judges rejected.

He began serving his manslaughter sentence in August 2017 and was released in May 2018 after nine months, following a reduction by the parole committee. The case divided Israeli opinion between those who condemned the shooting, including senior army officers, and those who defended it, among them many right-wing politicians. The brevity of the sentence also drew criticism.

Military opposition and political reaction

In July, Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir wrote to Herzog stating that the army opposed the request. "The position is based on several considerations, including the fact that the applicant has refrained from expressing remorse and taking responsibility for his actions, even a decade after his conviction," Zamir wrote.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir welcomed the decision. "As someone who demonstrated a decade ago for Elor Azaria, the cancelation of the criminal record of someone who eliminated a terrorist is deeply moving and joyful for me," he wrote on X, adding that the record "should never have existed in the first place, if the rules of engagement had been different." He also urged Herzog to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption.

In 2024, the Biden administration barred Azaria and his immediate family from entering the United States, citing his role in what it described as "a gross violation of human rights, namely an extrajudicial killing in the West Bank."

What it means: The expungement pits Israel's civilian leadership against its own military command on a case that international partners have already treated as a human rights matter. The army's written objection, grounded in Azaria's refusal to accept responsibility, and the U.S. entry ban of 2024 give governments and rights bodies a documented basis to question Israel's handling of accountability in the West Bank. With Ben Gvir openly linking the decision to a possible pardon for Netanyahu, the move also feeds into the domestic debate over the use of presidential clemency at a moment when Israel's conduct in the occupied territories is under close scrutiny abroad.