Israeli soldier says 'no regrets' about killing wounded Palestinian

JERUSALEM: An Israeli soldier who was convicted of killing a wounded Palestinian attacker, who was incapacitated and lying on the ground, said he had “no regrets” in his first interview since he was released from prison.

He was 19 when he fatally shot Abdel Fattah al-Sharif in the head at point-blank range  in the West Bank city of Hebron in 2016.

On Wednesday, Elor Azaria told the Hebrew-language daily Israel Hayom that if he could relive the March 2016 incident in the West Bank city of Hebron, "I would act exactly the same, because that's how I needed to act."

He served two-thirds of a 14-month reduced sentence after being convicted of manslaughter.

Azaria was initially sentenced to 18 months in prison after being convicted of manslaughter, but Israel’s military chief, Gadi Eisenkot, later reduced the sentence by four months.

He was filmed shooting a wounded, incapacitated Palestinian attacker. Israel's military pushed for his prosecution, saying Azaria violated its ethics.

He told the newspaper that despite his manslaughter conviction, he would serve in the IDF reserve forces.