Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman commented on the trial of Elor Azariya:
"It is forbidden for the political leadership, and definitely for a minister in Israel, to determine the fate of a soldier...before the legal process finishes," said Liberman during a visit of the Tel Hashomer Draft Center.
He went on to apologize for publicly condemning Azariya at the outset of the investigation: "In every country, and of course in a democratic country, everyone deserves a fair trail. To decide from the beginning that a soldier acted against the moral norms of the IDF before the trial had even begun was a grave mistake [on my part]."