Israeli President Isaac Herzog has cleared the criminal record of former soldier Elor Azaria, who was convicted of manslaughter after shooting dead a wounded Palestinian, Abdel Fattah al Sharif, as he lay on the ground in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron in 2016.

Herzog signed a decision on Saturday shortening the remaining period before Azaria’s criminal record would be erased, effectively clearing the conviction. His office said the decision did not amount to a reassessment of the original case.

The president’s office said Herzog considered the decade that had passed, Azaria’s completion of his sentence, changes in his personal and family circumstances and what it described as sorrow expressed by the former soldier. It said the decision was also made in the spirit of the approaching Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur.

The killing of Abdel Fattah al Sharif

Al Sharif was shot by Israeli forces after he stabbed and wounded an Israeli soldier in Hebron on 24 March 2016. He remained wounded on the ground for about 11 minutes before Azaria, then an Israeli army medic, approached and shot him in the head at close range. The killing was captured on video.

Azaria argued during his trial that he feared al Sharif might have been carrying explosives. The military court rejected his defence and convicted him of manslaughter in January 2017.

He was initially sentenced to 18 months in prison. The sentence was later reduced to 14 months, and he was released in May 2018 after serving nine months.

The case became one of Israel’s most divisive military trials, with senior military figures defending the prosecution while right wing politicians and sections of the Israeli public rallied behind Azaria. Palestinian officials and human rights organisations, meanwhile, criticised the punishment as too lenient.

The UN human rights office described the original sentence as “excessively lenient” and warned at the time that it risked reinforcing a culture of impunity. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry characterised the shooting as an extrajudicial execution.

In 2024, the United States barred Azaria and his immediate family from entering the country, citing what the State Department described as his involvement in an extrajudicial killing.

Army chief opposed clearing the record

Herzog’s decision came despite opposition from Israeli military leadership.

Israeli army chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir had opposed the request, according to Israeli and international reporting. In a letter cited by Israeli media, Zamir argued that Azaria had not demonstrated sufficient remorse or accepted responsibility for his actions in the years following his conviction.

Defence Minister Israel Katz took the opposite position and formally backed the request in July. After Herzog’s decision, Katz called it a humane and appropriate move and said it sent a message that Israel did not abandon its soldiers.

Herzog’s office said Azaria had expressed sorrow in his latest application and had previously described the fatal shooting as an “operational error”.

Ben Gvir calls for Netanyahu pardon

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who had supported Azaria during the original controversy, welcomed Herzog’s decision.

Ben Gvir said clearing the record of someone he described as having killed a “terrorist” made him “emotional and very happy”. He argued that Azaria should never have received the criminal record in the first place.

He then urged Herzog to extend a pardon to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is standing trial on corruption charges.

Netanyahu has denied wrongdoing in the cases against him.

The comparison immediately linked Herzog’s decision in the decade old Hebron case with a separate and politically charged debate over Netanyahu’s legal proceedings.

Herzog’s office stressed that clearing Azaria’s record did not overturn the military court’s judgment or reconsider the facts that led to his conviction.