Page 8 - ARUBA TODAY

A8 U.S. NEWS
Thursday 5 January 2017
Israeli soldier’s manslaughter conviction divides country

ARON HELLER of his backers held large
Associated Press Israeli flags, banners sup-
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The porting Donald Trump and
rare manslaughter con- others that said “the nation
viction Wednesday of an neglected a soldier on the
Israeli soldier who fatally battlefield.”
shot a badly wounded Pal- They periodically scuffled
estinian attacker exposed with police, and some
a deepening rift between chanted veiled death
proponents of the rule of threats against the Israeli
law and a burgeoning na- military chief, Lt. Gen. Gadi
tionalist movement. Eizenkot.
The military court verdict Netanyahu’s evening an-
against Sgt. Elor Azaria nouncement came hours
marked a victory for com- after other members of his
manders seeking to pre- coalition called for Azaria
serve a code of ethics, to be pardoned immedi-
but it also brought calls for ately.
a pardon from prominent “Today, a soldier who killed
hard-line politicians, led a terrorist who deserved
by Prime Minister Benjamin to die and who had tried
Netanyahu, who expressed to slaughter a soldier was
sympathy for the soldier or put in handcuffs and con-
depicted him as the victim victed like a criminal,” said
of a detached elite. Education Minister Naftali
In a statement on Face- Israeli solider Sgt. Elor Azaria waits with his parents for the verdict inside the military court in Tel Bennett, head of the pro-
book, Netanyahu urged Aviv, Israel on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2017. settler Jewish Home Party.
the public to “act respon- Associated Press The coalition has had dis-
sibly” toward the military, accused top generals of “If you want the justice sys- painstaking detail in deliv- putes with the legal system,
Israel’s most respected in- abandoning a serviceman tem to be taken seriously, ering the verdict over near- trying to delay an order
stitution. on the battlefield. The up- you have to punish some- ly three hours. to uproot an illegally built
“We have one army that is roar helped fuel the res- thing like this,” he said. “The She said there was no evi- West Banks settlement out-
the basis for our existence. ignation of Defense Min- court can’t be influenced dence to support his con- post and seeking to retro-
IDF soldiers are our sons ister Moshe Yaalon, who by the changing political flicting claims that the at- actively legalize dozens of
and daughters, and they staunchly defended the climate.” tacker was either already other illegal outposts.
must remain above all dis- army from the assault from Azaria, an army medic, dead or had posed a Azaria is scheduled to be
putes,” he said. But making within. was caught on video by threat. She called Azaria’s sentenced Jan. 15 and
no direct mention of the It is rare for a military court a human rights worker fa- testimony “unreliable,” said could face up to 20 years
military court, he said: “I to rule against a soldier tally shooting Abdel Fat- he could not have “both in prison, though he is ex-
support granting a pardon over lethal action taken in tah al-Sharif, a wounded sides of the stick,” and con- pected to receive less than
to Elor Azaria.” the field, not only in Israel Palestinian attacker who cluded the shooting was that. Netanyahu’s call for
With the statement, Netan- but also elsewhere in the had stabbed a soldier in “needless.” a pardon fueled what will
yahu plunged into a viscer- world. But for a country that the West Bank city of He- “We found there was no be a heated debate over
al dispute that has deeply claims to have the “most bron. Al-Sharif was on the room to accept his argu- whether Azaria deserves le-
divided Israel, where mili- moral army in the world,” ground, unarmed and vir- ments,” she said. “His mo- niency.
tary service is compulsory it had no choice but to tually motionless, when Az- tive for shooting was that Under the law, only Israel’s
and support for young sol- come down hard on a sol- aria fired a single bullet in he felt the terrorist deserved largely ceremonial presi-
diers is widespread. dier that the top brass was his head as other soldiers to die.” dent can issue a pardon.
Since the March shooting, convinced had strayed, milled about. That made little difference President Reuven Rivlin’s of-
the military leadership has said Amichai Cohen, a se- The head of the three- to Azaria’s many support- fice said he would decide
come under unprecedent- nior fellow at the nonparti- judge panel, Col. Maya ers. only after the legal process,
ed criticism, as members san Israeli Democracy Insti- Heller, broke down Azaria’s Outside military headquar- including an expected ap-
of Netanyahu’s coalition tute think tank. defense arguments in ters in Tel Aviv, hundreds peal, runs its course.

Turkey says truce violations put Syria talks in jeopardy

PHILIP ISSA The Syrian government raids on government-held ment forces. Turkey sup- in Iran’s Shura Council,”
Associated Press troops and allied militias areas in other parts of the ports the Syrian opposition. called the capture of Alep-
BEIRUT (AP) — Turkey have pressed an offensive country. The rebels also Meanwhile, Assad re- po a “big step toward re-
warned on Wednesday to take the Barada Valley accuse the government ceived a top Iranian official storing security and stability
that repeated cease-fire near Damascus from the of carrying out air raids in in Damascus and called nationwide.”
violations by Syrian govern- rebels — despite a cease- the rebel-held province of the Shiite country his “part- The cease-fire declared
ment forces threaten to fire agreement signed Idlib, where hundreds of ners in the victory that was last week between the
derail peace talks sched- shortly before New Year’s. thousands of civilians have achieved in Aleppo,” refer- government and the op-
uled for later this month. The government says the sought refuge from the civil ring the city pro-govern- position was supposed to
Foreign Minister Mevlut Ca- region was never included war, now in its sixth year. ment forces recently wres- prepare the way for the
vusoglu said the talks in Ka- in the agreement. Details Cavusoglu called on Iran, a tled back from rebels, with talks in the Kazakh capital
zakhstan, due Jan. 23, are of the deal have not been key ally of Syrian President Iranian help. of Astana, in what would
to be preceded by prepa- publicized. Bashar Assad and one of The Iranian official, Alaed- be the first substantial dip-
ratory meetings between Amid the government of- the guarantors of the truce din Boroujaerdi, in charge lomatic movement toward
Turkish and Russian experts fensive, the rebels have agreement, to address the of foreign policy and na- ending Syria’s conflict in
in Turkey. retaliated with shelling and violations by pro-govern- tional security portfolios nearly a year.