Elor Azariya in court with his parents
Elor Azariya in court with his parentsFlash 90

Supporters of Elor Azariya, the soldier accused of manslaughter after shooting a neutralized Arab terrorist to death in Hevron, scored a major victory on Monday, easily raising more than enough money to continue to fund Azariya's legal defense.

The fundraising campaign, which sought to raise 400,000 ($105,000) within 30 days ended up netting 406,664 shekels in just 12 hours.

The campaign, which was initiated by relatives of Azariya, began at 8:00 p.m. Sunday night, and by 8:00 a.m. Monday morning it was announced the effort had raked in more than the original goal.

Supporters of the campaign include journalist Sharon Gal and an organization for the defense of IDF soldiers.

Gal wrote on behalf of the campaign that "We citizens cannot stand idly by and leave Elor and his family undefended. We citizens cannot let bureaucracy and politics triumph over basic moral values we grew up on and upon which the IDF was founded, just like Israeli society as a whole. We citizens cannot rely on others – we take the responsibility upon ourselves. We citizens will fight for our soldiers and free Elor!"