Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report
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Wednesday, Jan. 04 '17, ו' בטבת תשע"ז
HEADLINES:
1. ELOR AZARIYA FOUND GUILTY OF MANSLAUGHTER
2. FAMILY OF TERRORIST: WE'LL TAKE AZARIYA TO THE HAGUE
3. WATCH: HUCKABEE SAYS TIME TO RETHINK TWO-STATE SOLUTION
4. LIBERMAN: IT IS A HARSH JUDGMENT - I DON'T LIKE IT
5. WEINROT: NETANYAHU CAN RELAX
6. ARUTZ SHEVA SPEAKS WITH LAWYER OF CONVICTED SOLIDER
7. WATCH: AZARIYA'S MOTHER CONFRONTS JUDGES AFTER RULING
8. WATCH: HUCKABEE CALLS UN RESOLUTION AN ACT OF HATE
1. ELOR AZARIYA FOUND GUILTY OF MANSLAUGHTER
by David Rosenberg
A military court in the Kiryat army complex in Tel Aviv handed down a guilty verdict to Sgt. Elor Azariya Wednesday morning.
Azariya, accused of manslaughter after shooting a wounded terrorist in Hevron on March 24th, 2016, claimed that he opened fire on the terrorist as an act of self-defense, arguing that he feared the terrorist was attempting to detonate an explosive device.
Following the decision by the court, Azariya is expected to be transferred immediately from the court to prison, even before a final sentence is handed down. Azariya will likely receive his sentence in February. He could face up to 20 years in jail.
During the exhaustive two-and-a-half-hour explanation and reading of the verdict on Wednesday, Judge Maya Heller stated that in the view of the court, "there was no immediate danger from the terrorist lying on the ground," rejecting the foundation of the defense's claim. Heller added that in the court's opinion, the defendant contradicted himself on several occasions.
"The accused opened fire against the [army's] rules of engagement," said Heller. "The terrorist was not a threat. The accused denied the claims against him and argued that the terrorist did in fact constitute a threat. He argued that… there was a concrete threat to him and his peers due to concerns that [the terrorist was armed] with a [concealed] knife or explosive device."
Heller added that shouting heard at the scene of the attack, which included claims that the terrorist appeared to be concealing a bomb and exhorting those in the area to keep their distance, did not justify Azariya's actions.
The ruling also touched upon the rules of engagement themselves, restricting the ability of soldiers in the future to open fire – even when they believe their lives to be at risk.
"Henceforth," said Heller, "justifying opening fire [with intent] to kill based only upon suspicions [of threats] will be forbidden.
"Even if we were to accept the [defendant's] version of the story regarding his suspicion [that the terrorist was carrying] a bomb, it would not justify shooting. There is no justification for shooting when there is only suspicion of a threat, [and not] definitive identification of a weapon."
The court also rejected testimony by Dr. Yehuda Hiss, former head of the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute, who had argued that the terrorist was not killed by the shot fired by Azariya, but had in fact already succumbed to injuries caused by the initial shooting which neutralized.
Outside of the court, hundreds of protesters demonstrated against the ruling, facing off against 350 police officers deployed around the Kirya compound.
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2. FAMILY OF TERRORIST: WE'LL TAKE AZARIYA TO THE HAGUE
by David Rosenberg
Shortly after IDF Sgt. Elor Azariya was convicted Wednesday afternoon of manslaughter for the killing of a wounded terrorist in Hevron in March of last year, the terrorist's family announced plans to bring Azariya before the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Azariya, whose sentence has yet to be determined, shot and killed Abed al Fatah al-Sharif on March 24th, 2016, minutes after al-Sharif and an accomplice stabbed an IDF soldier, moderately wounding him.
During the attack, al-Sharif and his fellow terrorist were both shot and neutralized after stabbing one soldier near the Tel Rumeida neighborhood in Hevron. The second terrorist died shortly thereafter.
Not long afterwards, Azariya fired a single shot at al-Sharif, who was confirmed dead at the scene.
Azariya claimed that al-Sharif appeared to be reaching for a weapon, a claim the court rejected on Wednesday.
Speaking with Channel 10 on Wednesday after the verdict, al-Sharif's family said they would seek further prosecution of the convicted soldier.
"We will go to the International [Criminal] Court and make sure that this soldier will be judged in front of the entire world."
3. WATCH: HUCKABEE SAYS TIME TO RETHINK TWO-STATE SOLUTION
by Eliran Baruch
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Huckabees mission to Israel was led by the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce and its Executive Public Policy Committee – Dr. Joseph Frager, Odeleya Jacobs, Dr. Paul Brody, and Duvi Honig- along with a delegation of prominent businessmen and women.
4. LIBERMAN: IT IS A HARSH JUDGMENT - I DON'T LIKE IT
by Uzi Baruch
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Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) reacted to the military tribunal's conviction Wednesday afternoon of Sgt. Elor Azarya for killing a terrorist and behavior unbecoming a soldier.
"This is a harsh verdict," Liberman said, ''The first thing I ask is for everyone - those who like the judgment more, and those like me who like the verdict much less - we are all committed to respect the legal decision and to exercise restraint despite the harsh verdict".
Liberman promised that the defense apparatus would help the soldier and his family in every way possible. "I call on public figures to stop attacking the defense system, the army, and the Chief of Staff. The calls that I heard in last half hour are fundamentally wrong. The Chief of Staff is the commander of the army, day and night, 24 hours a day, seven days a week''.
The Defense Minister called to remove the military from political debates. "One should study the ruling, take some air, and count to three before everyone charges the microphones and each person express his opinion."
"Even those who like the decision less, and I was one of them - we all have to accept and respect the decision. The IDF must come out of this stronger, and not allow internal political debate in Israeli society to weaken the army," said Liberman.
Earlier, Education Minister and Jewish Home chairman Naftali Bennett slammed the ruling in a Facebook comment, calling for an immediate pardon.
"Immediate amnesty for Elor Azariya. Now. Today a soldier who killed a murderous terrorist who tried to slaughter [another] soldier, was convicted and put in handcuffs like the worst criminal," wrote Bennett.
"We need to say the truth. The trial was corrupted from the outset," continued Bennett. "The harsh comments by political leaders even before the opening of the army's investigation, the removal of the soldier himself from the investigation process, the critical media coverage surrounding the case (including Army Radio) caused Elor irreparable harm."
"I expect Defense Minister Yvette [Avigdor] Liberman to keep his many promises and secure an immediate pardon for Elor Azariya, so that he does not have to spend a single day in prison."
5. WEINROT: NETANYAHU CAN RELAX
by Mordechai Sones
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is expected to be questioned for the second time this coming Friday at his official residence in Jerusalem, it was reported tonight (Tuesday) on Channel 2. As in the first questioning, the session has no set time limit.
Netanyahu's lawyer, Yaakov Weinrot, publicly spoke of the investigation for the first time and told Channel 2, "Netanyahu was relaxed even before [the first interrogation], but I'm a lawyer and I'm not relaxed before [an investigation]."
He said, "I heard what they asked Netanyahu and what he answered. I can state categorically - he has every reason to remain relaxed even after yesterday's conversation with the police."
Weinrot praised the police's conduct for the lack of leaks from the investigation: "The public has a right to know, and the public will know after the investigation is complete and conclusions are drawn."
"I state as a fact, the Prime Minister is subject to constant attack, unending attack, and every time it turns out that there was nothing behind it, yet nobody pays any price [for the false accusations]," said Weinrot.
6. ARUTZ SHEVA SPEAKS WITH LAWYER OF CONVICTED SOLIDER
by Chana Roberts
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Following the conviction of IDF soldier Elor Azariya on Wednesday afternoon, Arutz Sheva spoke with Azariya's lawyer, Attorney Ilan Katz.
"We think that the verdict is wrong and we will appeal shortly," Katz said. "We hope the appeal will be accepted and the verdict will be canceled....
"During the trial there were several times in which the court was unfair towards the soldier and towards our witness. I think we will be able to prove it in the appeal.... the soldier only shot a terrorist who came to kill [...] and was still able to kill or injure the soldiers who were at the scene."
In addition, Israeli journalist Sharon Gal said, "The court has decided to convict Elor Azariya, in a completely one-sided, biased, and horrific fashion. They have chosen B'tselem's version over the version of an excellent IDF combat soldier. They did not give any weight to any of the claims or proofs which were carefully and professionally brought to court.
"It's as if the court is completely divorced from the fact that we're talking about the scene of a terror attack, and the terrorist was a murderer," Gal continued.
"I felt like the court picked the knife up from the ground where the terrorist had dropped it, and stabbed it into the back of an excellent IDF combat soldier, and into the backs of all IDF combat soldiers, who need to deal with a very difficult reality.
"I can tell you one thing: this verdict will be appealed, this unjust and horrific verdict will be fixed. Elor Azariya will be declared innocent, and I will be there with him until it happens," Gal concluded.
7. WATCH: AZARIYA'S MOTHER CONFRONTS JUDGES AFTER RULING
by Yoni Kempinski
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8. WATCH: HUCKABEE CALLS UN RESOLUTION AN ACT OF HATE
by Eliran Baruch
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Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee slammed UN Security Council Resolution 2334 as an act of hate and contempt against the State of Israel and criticized Secretary of State John Kerry's speech against construction in Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria during a visit to the Knesset Tuesday.
The Knesset visit was arranged by MK Miki Zohar (Likud).
"I'm not here today to in any way suggest a course of action for Israel. That's the sovereign duty of a sovereign state to decide for itself," Huckabee said in the Knesset. "John Kerry's speech last week was without any historical precedent at all. No perspective. He made the ridiculous and irrational statement that Israel can either be a Jewish State, or it can be a democracy, but it can't be both...Mr. Secretary, it is both."
He accused Kerry of fundamentally misunderstanding Israel. "The only way that statement makes any sense at all is if you take faith and religion out of the equation of who Israel is."
"Be happy about your history. Be proud. Your history tells you where you came from and where you are going. The UN Resolution was an act of hatred and contempt. Very rarely are Syria, North Korea, Russia, etc. condemned. Israel is condemned far more. There are more condemnations in the UN when Israel builds houses than when Iran builds a nuclear reactor," Huckabee said.
"The world doesn't hate you because of where you are, but because of what you are - and especially because of who you are. The Muslim world is far larger and there is no justification for Israel to withdraw from the territories. To divide Jerusalem is like asking King Solomon to divide the baby in half." he added.
"I hope that [President-elect] Donald Trump will not let the people in Washington draw him into the swamp of inactivity. There is a saying: Do it big or go home. You need to do it big, and you are already home," he said in conclusion.
Huckabee's mission to Israel was led by the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce and its Executive Public Policy Committee – Dr. Joseph Frager, Odeleya Jacobs, Dr. Paul Brody, and Duvi Honig- along with a delegation of prominent businessmen and women.
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