Israel court rejects jail delay for soldier who shot dead wounded Palestinian

An Israeli military court has refused to postpone the imprisonment of a soldier sentenced to 18 months for killing a wounded Palestinian and he will be jailed this week, the army said on Monday.

Elor Azaria had applied on Sunday for a delay to his prison term.

"His request was rejected and he will be incarcerated as planned on Wednesday in the military prison of Tzrifin", south of Tel Aviv, an army spokesman said.

On July 30, a military court rejected Azaria's appeal against his conviction for manslaughter and upheld the prison term.

Azaria is expected to present himself to the authorities on Wednesday to begin serving his sentence.

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 after being shot by Israeli soldiers. The Israeli army said he had stabbed and wounding a soldier.

Azaria then shot Al Sharif in the head without any apparent provocation.

He said he feared Al Sharif was wearing an explosive belt and could blow himself up, a claim judges rejected.

A number of Israeli leaders, including prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have spoken out in favour of him being pardoned.