Most Israelis support granting a pardon to Sgt Elor Azaria, who was convicted on Wednesday of manslaughter and conduct unbecoming over the shooting of an immobilised Palestinian assailant in the West Bank city of Hebron last March.
A poll commissioned by the Yisrael Hayom newspaper found that 70% believed the soldier should be pardoned immediately, while 19% opposed a pardon and 11 per cent said they had no opinion.
Prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu and many of his right-wing ministers have also expressed support for pardoning Azaria.
An exception was defence minister Avigdor Lieberman, who warned that politicians’ expressing an opinion on the issue were undermining the judicial process.
Opposition politicians criticised Netanyahu’s call for clemency. Zionist Union Knesset member Erel Margalit said it was time to speak out clearly.
Despite the public clamour for clemency, the chances of the army granting a pardon are slim and President Reuven Rivlin said he will only consider a request at the appropriate time. With Azaria still facing sentencing and an appeals process, the matter may not come before the president for some time.