JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli media are reporting that a military court has upheld the 18-month sentence of a soldier convicted of fatally shooting a Palestinian attacker who lay wounded on the ground.

Media report that the court Sunday found no reason to accept Elor Azaria's appeal and overturn the sentencing handed down after his conviction on a manslaughter charge.

Azaria's trial deeply divided Israel. The verdict marked a victory for military commanders seeking to preserve its vaunted code of ethics, while prominent hard-line politicians called him a hero who was being persecuted.

Azaria, an army medic, was caught on video last year as he fatally shot the wounded Palestinian, just after the man stabbed a soldier in the West Bank city of Hebron. The Palestinian was lying wounded on the ground and already unarmed.