Israeli soldier on trial accused of shooting injured Palestinian man dead

An Israeli soldier who shot and killed an already wounded Palestinian assailant went on trial on manslaughter charges in a rare case that focuses on allegations of excessive use of force in confronting Palestinian attacks.

A majority of Israelis do not want a court-martial to take place, according to an opinion poll taken shortly after Sergeant Elor Azaria was arrested in March.

Palestinian officials have called the soldier’s action cold-blooded murder.

The incident, in the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, came to light after a video shot by a Palestinian witness showed Sgt Azaria firing once into the head of the assailant, who lay wounded on the ground after he had stabbed and wounded another soldier.

An autopsy, attended by both an Israeli and a Palestinian pathologist, showed it was Sgt Azaria’s bullet that killed him.

Palestinian leaders have accused Israel of routine extra-judicial killings — a charge it denies — as it tries to quell months of stabbings, shootings and car rammings.

Sgt Azaria, a conscript medic, is the first active duty Israeli soldier to face criminal proceedings over the alleged illegal use of lethal force since the violence erupted in October.

However, with Israel’s military chief urging soldiers to use only “measured and considered force” in dealing with attackers, an opinion poll found that 57 percent of Israelis believe Sgt Azaria should never have been arrested.

According to the military, Sgt Azaria told investigators he believed the Palestinian, though subdued, may have had a suicide explosive belt and that he still posed a danger.