The shooting was captured on video by the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem, and appeared to show a man who had been apprehended and disarmed for supposedly wounding an Israeli soldier, lying on the ground. Moments later, the 19 year old soldier, Sgt Elor Azaria, shot the man, execution style, in the head.
The new video footage which has been introduced to the trial appears to contradict the soldier’s original story, showing as it does, somebody kicking a knife towards the victim’s body. This supports the prosecution's argument that the knife that was alleged to have been used against an Israeli soldier, was not within reach at the time of the shooting.
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סרטון חדש מאירוע הירי בחברון: בועטים בסכין ומקרבים אותה לגופת המחבל
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Sara Apps, Interim Director of Palestine Solidarity Campaign, told Sputnik that even without this new evidence, the original video footage supported the argument that this was a war crime:
"Here we see absolute proof really, that evidence was placed on the victim. Really, the soldier who was involved in the incident should already have been made to face to full weight of the law, but this makes it even more irrefutable that [his actions were] completely illegal and completely immoral."
She added: "We’re not confident that the Israeli justice system will treat this case fairly, because we’ve seen too many incidences where it hasn’t in the past. But equally, we’re not sure the international community will treat this fairly".
"Really, when soldiers act in this way and are allowed to get away with it, that’s the Israeli justice system allowing them to act with impunity. And the international community – in the forms of the EU and the UN – when they fail to take action in this case, it allows Israel to act with impunity and makes them complicit with Israel’s occupation."
The case continues to divide Israeli society, with many on the right calling for solidarity with Elor Azaria. The United Nations described the incident as an example of "extrajudicial killing" and even Prime Minister Netanyahu has condemned the incident, saying "what happened in Hebron does not represent the values of the Israeli Defence Forces".
The trial continues.
