Comment on An Israeli soldier who shot a Palestinian attacker was driven by a 'twisted ideology'

Reuters/Amir CohenA "twisted ideology" drove an Israeli soldier to fatally shoot a Palestinian assailant in the head as he lay subdued in the road, states a classified Israel Defense Forces (IDF) document leaked to VICE News. The internal investigation includes criticism of 19-year-old Sgt. Elor Azaria's actions from multiple IDF investigating military officials. Azaria shot Palestinian attacker Abdul Fatah al-Sharif with a single bullet to the head as he lay wounded on the street in the West Bank city of Hebron on March 24. The killing has polarized Israeli society and triggered a national debate about how the military should conduct itself. The 17-page dossier states: * The soldier said before the shooting that the subdued Palestinian "needs to die." * After the shooting, he told a commander: "He's a terrorist, he needs to die." * The soldier "changed his version [of events] in the different investigations," according to one investigator, telling a commander: "I shot because I felt there was a threat to life." * The incident "severely hurts the IDF and Israel's image." Last week Israeli prosecutors filed manslaughter charges against Azaria, but there has been an outpouring of support for his actions from some parts of Israeli society. The incident has pitted the military's chief of staff and defense minister, who criticized the soldier's actions, against politicians, the soldier's relatives, and sympathizers who say his actions were entirely appropriate and should be celebrated. The criminal case is expected to hinge on whether Azaria can persuade the court that he shot the assailant because he posed a danger, rather than as an act of revenge. The report, titled "Investigation into the incident of a terrorist attack of the Jilber Position and the subsequent shooting of the terrorist after he was neutralized," is likely to play a pivotal role in the case.