ISRAELI soldier Elor Azaria, who shot dead incapacitated Palestinian prisoner Abdul Fatah al-Sharif at point-blank range, has had his derisory manslaughter sentence reduced for the second time.

Pte Azaria, a medic, was convicted in January 2017 of shooting Mr Sharif in the head as he lay wounded on the ground after stabbing another soldier and being shot by others.

Video showed Pte Azaria cocking his M-16 rifle before approaching the prisoner and shooting him despite him no longer posing a threat.

The United Nations described the killing as an “extrajudicial execution.”

The UN human rights office said the 18-month jail sentence handed down at his trial in February 2017 was “unacceptable” and “excessively lenient.”

A month after Pte Azaria began serving time last August, Israel Defence Force (IDF) chief-of-staff Gadi Eizenkot announced that his sentence would be reduced by four months “on grounds of compassion and mercy.”

The IDF parole board considered his case on Monday and ordered that he be freed on May 10 after serving just nine months for the cold-blooded killing of a prisoner.

Israeli chief military prosecutor Sharon Zagagi Pinhas opposed parole last week, reporting that Pte Azaria has shown no remorse for his premeditated killing.

Israel introduced a mandatory four-year sentence in 2015 for Palestinians, usually children, who throw stones at occupation forces and illegal settlers.

Manslaughter convictions carry a maximum sentence of 20 years, while the prosecution recommended that Pte Azaria receive three to five years.