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“There are several obvious differences between the Helmand Incident [in which an injured Taliban insurgent was killed in 2011] and the Elor Azaria affair…but there are also similarities: the tumultuous political and public debate, the mass mobilisation of civilians and soldiers on behalf of the accused, and the criticisms leveled at the judicial system. Surely the most important lesson to be learned from [Alexander] Blackman’s case, however, is that the legal process is being allowed to run its course. For the sake of Israel’s democracy, that must also be the outcome whether Azaria is acquitted or found guilty.”

(Prof Stuart Cohen and Prof Amichai Cohen on the importance of Israel’s legal system in disciplining its own soldiers, 02/01/2017)