An Israel Defence Force (IDF) medic sentenced to 18 months in prison for killing a wounded Palestinian assailant has appealed against a manslaughter conviction that could have sent him to jail for a maximum 20-year term.

Three of Elor Azaria's defence attorneys announced they were quitting after the appeal was announced.

In a statement, they said he had received a "fantastic and seemingly impossible" sentence, appearing to suggest he should not put it at risk.

Azaria's trial was one of the most divisive in Israel's history.

In one opinion poll, nearly half of Israeli Jews said any Palestinian attacker should be killed on the spot.

The Israeli–Palestinian conflict intensifies Show all 10 1 /10 The Israeli–Palestinian conflict intensifies The Israeli–Palestinian conflict intensifies Medics evacuate a wounded man from the scene of an attack in Jerusalem. A Palestinian rammed a vehicle into a bus stop then got out and started stabbing people before he was shot dead AP The Israeli–Palestinian conflict intensifies Israeli ZAKA emergency response members carry the body of an Israeli at the scene of a shooting attack in Jerusalem. A pair of Palestinian men boarded a bus in Jerusalem and began shooting and stabbing passengers, while another assailant rammed a car into a bus station before stabbing bystanders, in near-simultaneous attacks that escalated a month long wave of violence AP The Israeli–Palestinian conflict intensifies Youths attend the funeral of Ahmad Sharake who was shot during clashes with Israeli forces in Jelazun refugee camp, near Ramallah, West Bank. Tensions in the area continue to run high following a series of stabbing attacks that have occurred around Israel in clashes between Palestinian youths and Israeli security forces Getty Images The Israeli–Palestinian conflict intensifies Palestinians throw molotov cocktail during clashes with Israeli troops near Ramallah, West Bank. Recent days have seen a series of stabbing attacks in Israel and the West Bank that have wounded several Israelis AP The Israeli–Palestinian conflict intensifies Women cry during the funeral of Palestinian teenager Ahmad Sharaka, 13, who was shot dead by Israeli forces during clashes at a checkpoint near Ramallah, at the family house in the Palestinian West Bank refugee camp of Jalazoun, Ramallah AP The Israeli–Palestinian conflict intensifies A wounded Palestinian boy and his father hold hands at a hospital after their house was brought down by an Israeli air strike in Gaza Reuters The Israeli–Palestinian conflict intensifies Palestinians look on after a protester is shot by Israelis soldiers during clashes at the Howara checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus EPA The Israeli–Palestinian conflict intensifies A lawyer wearing his official robes kicks a tear gas canister back toward Israeli soldiers during a demonstration by scores of Palestinian lawyers called for by the Palestinian Bar Association in solidarity with protesters at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, near Ramallah, West Bank AP The Israeli–Palestinian conflict intensifies Undercover Israeli soldiers detain a Palestinian in Ramallah Reuters The Israeli–Palestinian conflict intensifies Palestinian youth burn tyres during clashes with Israeli soldiers close to the Jewish settlement of Bet El, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, after Israel barred Palestinians from Jerusalem's Old City as tensions mounted following attacks that killed two Israelis and wounded a child

Eleven months ago, Azaria was serving as an army medic in the town of Hebron in the occupied West Bank when two Palestinians stabbed and wounded another soldier.

One of the assailants was shot dead by troops. The other was shot and wounded. Eleven minutes later, as the wounded man, Abd Elfatah Ashareef, 21, lay on the ground unable to move, Azaria, then 19, took aim with his rifle and fatally shot him.

A three-judge military court convicted Azaria of manslaughter last month. It rejected his contention that he believed the man still posed a threat, admitting into evidence a video of the incident recorded by a Palestinian rights activist.

Imposing punishment lighter than a three-to-five year sentence requested by the prosecution, the court noted the Hebron incident had been Azaria's first combat experience and that his record had been unblemished.

The Palestinian government said the term imposed by the court had given Israeli soldiers a "green light" to carry out "executions without fear of real punishment".

Loading....

In the statement announcing their resignation, the three defence lawyers also said that while they believed Azaria never should have been convicted, they had proposed to the soldier and his family that he pursue other options.

Those include a presidential pardon — which cannot be considered while an appeal process is ongoing — or a procedure in which an a military general can opt to reduce his sentence.

In the petition to a military appeals court, Azaria's remaining lawyer asked that the start of his incarceration be deferred until the end of legal proceedings.

Prosecutors, who have yet to decide whether to lodge an appeal for a stiffer sentence, had originally considered charging Azaria with murder. But they said it would have been difficult to meet the legal requirement of showing premeditation.