In a move that has reignited a decade-old debate, Israel's president Isaac Herzog has pardoned Elor Azaria, a combat medic convicted of manslaughter for shooting dead a badly wounded Palestinian attacker in the occupied West Bank. The pardon, announced on Saturday, was made on the recommendation of defence minister Israel Katz, and cited the passage of time and the spirit of the approaching Yom Kippur holiday. Because nothing says 'Day of Atonement' like letting bygones be bygones for a fatal shooting.

Azaria was 20 when he was sentenced in 2017 to 18 months in prison for killing Abdel Fattah al-Sharif, who lay on the ground unarmed and severely injured after stabbing a soldier in Hebron. A mobile phone video captured Azaria shooting al-Sharif in the head. Azaria served two-thirds of his sentence before his release. In his first interview after his release, he said he would 'act exactly the same, because that's how I needed to act.' Charming.

Herzog's office said Azaria had 'expressed his sorrow' in his pardon request, though in an earlier request he called the shooting an 'operational error.' Because nothing says 'sorry' like calling it a mistake. Katz called the pardon a 'right, humane and fitting decision,' and said Azaria had been on a 'complex operational mission.' The military's chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, had reportedly written to the defence minister opposing the pardon. But who needs military advice when you have holiday spirit?

The conviction was a rare case of a military court ruling against a soldier for deadly action in the field. Top generals had pressed for prosecution, while many in the Israeli public supported Azaria amid a wave of stabbings and car-ramming attacks. Some supporters protested outside his trial. On Saturday, hard-line national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said the pardon made him 'emotional and very happy.' Of course it did.

Some Palestinians and human rights groups had described Azaria's sentence as far too lenient, with prosecutors seeking three to five years. The Palestinian government minister in charge of prisoner affairs, Issa Karaka, called the original sentencing a 'joke.' The divisions over the case led to public polling and political pressure that caused then-defence minister Moshe Ya'alon to resign. After the verdict, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for a pardon. Herzog's office noted the decision 'does not constitute a reassessment of the case.' So don't worry, it's not a legal do-over - just a holiday gift.