In Israel, police have arrested two people for threatening judges who brought a manslaughter conviction against an Israeli soldier caught on tape executing a wounded Palestinian man. Video of the killing last March shows Palestinian Abdel Fattah al-Sharif lying immobilized on the ground as Israeli Sergeant Elor Azaria fires a single shot into the man’s head at close range. Azaria’s conviction last week drew outrage across Israel, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joining calls for a presidential pardon of the soldier. On Thursday, Israeli police said they arrested a man and a woman who used social media to post death threats against the military judges who convicted Azaria. This is police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld.
Micky Rosenfeld: “Israeli police units are looking out for individuals who are putting out information threatening individuals in connection with the case. And this will continue as long as necessary.”
One of the two arrested was identified as a 22-year-old woman who allegedly threatened the top military judge on Azaria’s case, writing, “Take a grenade and blow up the judge and scatter all of her parts in different places, let the dogs eat her.” According to The Jerusalem Post, she was questioned by police, released and banned from posting on Facebook for 30 days.