Jerusalem – Elor Azaria, the IDF soldier who shot dead an incapacitated terrorist in Hebron in March 2016 said in an interview published Tuesday that he would do exactly the same thing given the circumstances.
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“I am completely at peace with myself. I acted properly. I went with my truth. I did the right thing, and nothing should have happened” Azaria said in his first interview since being released in May after serving two-thirds of a 14 months prison sentence.
There is no doubt whatsoever that if you put me back in Hebron, I would do exactly the same thing because that’s what should have been done,” Azaria told the Hebrew-language free daily newspaper Israel Hayom.
In the interview, to be published in full in Israel Hayom ’s weekend edition, Azaria recalled the critical moment when he decided to shoot Abdel Fatah al-Sharif, a terrorist who had tried to stab two soldiers several minutes earlier.
“I saw that he had a black, inflated coat, and there were screams, there was a knife, just a touch away. I realized that in addition to the knife, the terrorist carried a bomb on his body.” he said in the interview “ Everything connected, and I acted just as I had been educated since the beginning of my training as a combat soldier. I remember loading my weapon, shouting to the company commander, ‘move,’ I shot him in the head – and it was over.” he said.
Azaria said that since being released from prison he has been greeted with an outpouring of love. “It makes me feel joy, the Jewish people stand united behind my family and me all this time, and I am thankful for the support and assistance given to my family,” he said.
Azaria’s case has been a divisive issue from the start: The incident sparked a national debate about military ethics in the IDF. During the trial, Azaria claimed he shot al-Sharif because he feared he was wearing a suicide belt and had moved to detonate it.
Education Minister Naftali Bennett, Culture Minister Miri Regev, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, were among those who had called for Azaria to be pardoned, arguing that he was “just doing his job.”
But critics, including former chief of staff and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon and President Reuven Rivlin, said the soldier had violated the IDF code of ethics.
Some men are just killers. A fellow like this is undisciplined and will never make a good soldier. I hope he does not go on a killing spree.
where is Hamas Code of ethics holding the rotting bodies of 2 Jewish boys killed during a ceasefire? enough with capos of Soros and yamsar. We should award IDF soldiers for kills. I would never join an army that prioritizes the enemy’s lives ( Arabs) over mine. Islam is the modern day Amalek. During the British Raj, Indians would run away from any UK soldiers. All these “ethics”, “rules” “morals” “code of conduct” is a code name for liberals to allow Jewish soldiers to die. there are no civilians in war, and if there are why isn’t FDR, Churchhill, Nixon, LBJ, Bush considered war criminals?
An Israeli hero. This “incapacitated” scum peace of garbage was trying to kill someone. And to top it off he may have had a bomb on him too. But even if not of course you shoot to kill a terrorist. Its a shame and sad that fake news controls the Israeli media too.
Gentlemen, not only am I not a Jew, I am a retired infantry officer. I tell my people when to kill. I command. I am responsible. This cub did not follow orders. He is a danger to his comrades. He will never be a soldier.