Court hears Israeli soldier's manslaughter appeal

An Israeli soldier who shot dead a wounded Palestinian assailant was back in court today, with his lawyers seeking to overturn his manslaughter conviction.
The five-member panel of military judges is simultaneously hearing prosecutors' appeal against Elor Azaria's 18-month jail term, which they call "excessively lenient".
Israel's Channel 10 TV posted video of him smiling broadly and shaking hands with family and friends as he entered the military courtroom in Tel Aviv.
Azaria was convicted in January and sentenced the next month, after a trial that deeply divided Israeli society.
He was due to begin his sentence on March 5, but a military appeals court agreed to postpone imprisonment until judgement of his appeal.

The French-Israeli infantry medic is currently under "open arrest" confined to his army base.

The March 2016 shooting in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron was caught on video by a rights group and spread widely online.
It showed Abdul Fatah al-Sharif, 21, lying wounded on the ground, shot along with another Palestinian after stabbing and wounding a soldier, according to the army.
Azaria then shot him in the head without any apparent provocation.
He said he feared Sharif was wearing an explosive belt and could blow himself up, a claim judges rejected.
The Palestinian government described the 18-month sentence as a "green light to the occupation army to continue its crimes".

Amnesty International said the sentence did "not reflect the gravity of the offence," while the UN human rights office said it was an "unacceptable" punishment for "an apparent extra-judicial killing".
The trial captivated Israel and highlighted deep divisions in public opinion between those who decry his actions and those who see him as a hero protecting his comrades.
A number of Israeli politicians have called for him to be pardoned, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The defence's decision to appeal was controversial, with three of Azaria's lawyers resigning from the case, saying they did not believe it served his best interests.

In a direct response, military prosecutors said they would seek a prison sentence of three to five years.
"The prosecution argues that the punishment imposed on the respondent is excessively lenient and is not consistent with the level of punishment which is acceptable and appropriate to the respondent's deeds," says their appeal.
Defence attorney Yoram Sheftel's 44-page appeal alleges the court ignored video clips that he says support Azaria's version of events while the prosecution evidence does not stand up to scrutiny.
Channel 10 quoted him as telling the court on Wednesday that while he and his assistant were two defenders, "there are millions more who believe in Azaria's innocence," an apparent reference to public support.