Chairman of the Jewish Home Party, Minister Naftali Bennett, affirmed the words of Chief of Staff Eizenkot, calling for a pardon of Elor Azariya, if he is found guilty.
Bennett spoke Tuesday with Erel Segal and Chaim Levinson of Army Radio. “IDF soldiers are soldiers. They are not small children. They are charged with defending the citizens of Israel, and there is sometimes confusion in Israel about who is supposed to protect whom. I hope he is acquitted, but if not I believe he should be pardoned immediately and not have to sit in prison.”
In his speech at a conference in memory of former Chief of Staff Amnon Lipkin-Shahak at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, the current Chief of Staff, Gadi Eizenkot referred to Azariya’s trial. “There are some courts that have little influence,” said Eizenkot. “They try to make justice and to dictate legal norms, but their rulings do not affect me or make justice. We have a deep confusion about the different roles played by different authorities.”
Eizenkot added that “An 18-year-old who enlists in the IDF is a soldier and a son of all of us, and he risks his life in order to save us.”