Katz requests Isaac Herzog formally pardon, erase Elor Azaria's criminal record

Defense Minister Israel Katz formally requested President Isaac Herzog pardon Elor Azaria and expunge his criminal record on Tuesday, a decade after Azaria's 2016 Hebron shooting incident. Azaria was convicted of manslaughter in 2017 for shooting an incapacitated Palestinian assailant and served nine months of a 14-month sentence, being released in 2018. Katz argued that the original concern about harming IDF resilience "ceased to be relevant with the passage of time" and that Azaria's continued criminal record prevents his societal and workforce integration. President Herzog stated he would weigh the request "responsibly and with due seriousness" after receiving all opinions. This marks Azaria's third pardon request, with a previous one declined by then-President Reuven Rivlin in 2017, who cited the importance of IDF values.