Hebron shooter Elor Azaria opens bakery after his prison sentence ended
Videos of the incident, which went viral and brought widespread international condemnation.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFElor Azaria, July 29 2017.(photo credit: MAARIV)
Elor Azaria, former soldier who was convicted of manslaughter a subdued Palestinian terrorist after he had posed no threat, is opening a bakery, Israel Hayom reported."Victoire Boutique", as the place will be called, will open on Sunday at Ramla, in partnership with his Azaria's older brother."It's my personal victory," Azaria said. "From where I was five years ago to where I am today, but also it's the name of my uncle, Victor, who died of a heart attack"Azaria has also told Israel Hayom that he is working on a book in which he will tell his version of the events and details which are not yet known. He also elaborated that he does not regret his actions."If you put me back in that same situation in Hebron, I would do the same thing, because I acted the right way." He said.Azaria has been the subject of deep controversy in Israel since he was caught on camera in March 2016 killing Palestinian terrorist Abdel Fatah al-Sharif, who was subdued after stabbing an IDF soldier. Azaria, a former combat medic, served 14 months of an 18-month manslaughter sentence.Videos of the incident, which went viral and brought widespread international condemnation, show Azaria shooting the incapacitated terrorist while the latter was lying on the ground – although Azaria claimed his shots were in self-defense as he feared a knife attack or concealed explosive vest.Ultimately he served a nine month sentence for the incident, having been released five months before his 14-month sentence ended. In an interview in 2018, Azaria said that he thinks he acted correctly. “I have no regrets,” emphasized Azaria. “I have no doubt. Take me back right now to those seconds in Hebron, I would do exactly the same thing. Because it’s the right way to act.”Then-IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, released a statement at the time of Azaria’s early release that his “conduct was improper and violated the army’s rules and values,” and that his request for a pardon was not accepted because he “did not take responsibility for the act and... did not express regret.”
“I see this as a serious incident that should not have happened, in which a soldier breaks the law, violates his orders and the spirit of the IDF,” Eisenkot said. “In some places, unfortunately, he was accepted as a hero. But he is far from a hero; he’s more like an antihero.”Lahav Harcove, Hadas Labrisch contributed to this report
