Israel President Isaac Herzog pardons Elor Azaria and clears his criminal record after a 2016 incident in Hebron in the occupied West Bank. Multiple outlets report the decision follows a request from Defense Minister Israel Katz to approve Azaria’s application for expungement.
Azaria was convicted in Israel for killing a wounded Palestinian man, Abdel Fattah al-Sharif, during a 2016 shooting. He begins serving a manslaughter sentence in August 2017 and is later released in May 2018 after nine months, following a reduction by a parole committee. The Israeli army opposes the move, with reporting citing the view that Azaria has not expressed remorse or accepted responsibility.
In 2024, the Biden administration bars Azaria and his immediate family from entering the United States, describing his actions as an extrajudicial killing and a human-rights violation. The outlets frame Herzog’s pardon as a landmark development in a case that continues to draw international attention.
