Eisenkott weighs in against Hebron soldier before court verdict
Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gady Eisenkott commented Tuesday that Elor Azaria, who last year shot dead an injured Palestinian terrorist in Hebron, is not “everybody’s child” – the motto of a broad popular campaign in his favor – but a soldier.
The soldier is on trial for manslaughter before a military court, which is due to hand down its verdict Wednesday. The entire case was highly controversial, with his family, comrades-in-arms and some ex-generals justifying his action, against its repudiation by the chief of staff and the former defense minister Moshe Yaalon, who stepped down over the issue.
Doubling down on his contention, Gen. Eisenkott said Tuesday that while IDF commanders need to be sensitive to social sentiments, they have a duty to build the right walls to allow the army to pursue its mission.
Elor Azaria’s parents slammed Eisenkott’s remarks as “flagrant intervention in a court process in advance of a ruling.”