REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, TEL AVIV -- An Israeli soldier who shot dead an injured and incapacitated Palestinian man in the West Bank has been convicted of manslaughter in one of the most divisive trials in Israel's history.

Hundreds of protesters rallied in support of the accused, Elor Azaria, along a busy Tel Aviv street and some clashed with police outside an army base where the lengthy verdict was read out.

Despite a campaign by Azaria's family and politicians criticising the armed forces for putting him on trial at a time of Palestinian street attacks, members of Israel's military establishment argued that shooting in violation of regulations could not be countenanced.

A three-judge military court rejected the 20-year-old conscript's arguments that he acted in self-defence.

The shooting was caught on video by a Palestinian rights activist, and the footage, distributed to news organizations, ensured the incident drew international attention.

Reading for two and a half hours from the verdict, chief judge Colonel Maya Heller said Azaria shot the Palestinian out of revenge in March 2016 after the Palestinian stabbed and wounded a fellow soldier in the town of Hebron. "He deserves to die," Azaria was quoted in the verdict as telling another soldier, just after fatally shooting him in the head, as he lay motionless in the street after being injured minutes earlier by Israeli military gunfire.

"One cannot use this type of force, even if we're talking about an enemy's life," the court said in its verdict.

"We unanimously convict the accused of manslaughter and of conduct unbecoming (a soldier)."

Sentencing will be handed down at a later date. Politicians from right-wing parties have already called on President Reuven Rivlin to pardon the soldier, who has been dubbed "everyone's child" by the campaign supporting him. The manslaughter charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in jail.

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