Around 1,000 Israelis gathered outside an Israeli military court in southern Israel on Tuesday evening to express solidarity with the Israeli soldier facing charges of executing Palestinian Abdul-Fattah al-Sharif in the West Bank city of Hebron last week, Israeli media reported.
According to reports from Israeli media published by lmesryoon.com, the soldier’s supporters chanted slogans which included phrases attributed to the Kahana extremist Jewish organisation.
Last Thursday the soldier was filmed firing a shot to the head of an already wounded Palestinian as he lay on his back in a Hebron street. Al-Sharif had already been shot by the Israeli army in relation to a stabbing attack.
Avigdor Lieberman, the head of right-wing opposition Yisrael Beiteinu party, has expressed support for the soldier and severely criticised his detention.
“The charges against the soldier are baseless,” Lieberman said. “I am sure that the appeal against him will collapse because he is innocent.”
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the Israeli soldier during the weekly cabinet meeting, insisting that Israeli soldiers maintain ethical values.
He said: “The soldiers of the IDF, our children, maintain high ethical values while courageously fighting against bloodthirsty murderers under difficult operational conditions.”
Moshe Ya’alon, defence minister, called the incident “very grave and absolutely contrary to the values of the IDF and its battle ethics”.