The Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC) strongly condemns the 18-month sentence handed to Israeli soldier Elor Azaria, who was filmed in Hebron shooting wounded 21-year old Palestinian Abdelfattah Al-Sharif. In January 2017, the soldier was convicted of manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.

The video recording dated 24 March 2016 showed Abdelfattah Al-Sharif laying on the ground, unarmed and injured after having been shot by Israeli soldiers in Tel Rumeida, Hebron. Abdelfattah Al-Sharif, who was suspected of carrying out an attack against an Israeli soldier, should have been brought to trial. Instead, the 21 year-old was subjected to an extrajudicial killing.

The recorded killing caused international outcry and Azaria was subsequently charged with manslaughter. The trial marked the first case of a soldier being charged for killing a Palestinian since October 2015, despite over 200 Palestinians having been killed by Israeli forces since then. The vast majority of cases of extrajudicial executions did not result in investigations surrounding the circumstances of the killings.

On 21 February 2017, Elor Azaria was sentenced to one year and a half in prison. In contrast, on 28 January 2016, five Palestinian youth from Hares, Ali Shamlawi, Ammar Souf, Mohammed Kleib, Mohammed Suleiman,  and Tamer Souf each received a 15 year prison sentence for manslaughter.

Palestinian children have received significantly higher sentences for attempted murder than Azaria did for the fatal shooting of a Palestinian. For example, in November 2016, 14-year-old Ahmad Manasrah was sentenced to 12 years in prison for attempted murder. In November 2016, 16-year old Nurhan Awad was sentenced in Jerusalem to 13 and a half years for attempted murder. In July 2016, 14 year-old Muawiya Alqam was sentenced to 6 and a half years for attempted murder.

Under the civil code, throwing stones carries a minimum sentence of two years – which is 6 months more than the sentencing Azaria received for the killing of a Palestinian.

PHROC condemns the lenient sentencing of Azaria, which highlights a culture of impunity and suggests that Israeli authorities are unwilling to hold soldiers accountable in cases that result in Palestinian deaths. These acts of extrajudicial executions of Palestinians must be investigated as crimes of war by the International Criminal Court – particularly in light of this lack of accountability.