On Sunday, the courts are set to review a request for parole from Mohammed Hassan Agbariya, who along with three other attackers was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of three Israeli soldiers in 1992 in what came to be known as the "Night of the Pitchforks" attack. While the court is required to review Agbariya's request by law, security prisoners are rarely released on parole.
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On Feb. 14, 1992, Agbariya, along with his brother Ibrahim Hassan Agbariya, their cousin Yahya Mustafa, and Mohammed Tawfik Jabarin, entered the encampment near Kibbutz Gilad in Ramot Menashe, where recent recruits had been engaged in field training, murdering Yaakov Dubinsky, Sergei Zatziriyani, and Yuri Preda.
Earlier in the week, Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar contacted dozens of lawmakers, including those from his own New Hope party, who oppose Agbariya's release. In a letter to Sa'ar, Religious Zionist Party MK Orit Strock, along with 59 other lawmakers, said they expected the New Hope leader to "oppose outright the release of the rotten murderer who has the blood of three of our soldiers on his hands."
Israel Hayom has learned that despite his request for parole, Agbariya has continued to incite to terrorism from prison.
In an article posted just a few weeks ago by the website of Asra Voice Radio, the self-described radio station of Palestinian prisoners, Agbariya called to continue the struggle against Israel.
"The resistance cannot retreat from what began in the battle of the sword of Jerusalem or go back to the mentality of a 'resolution to the conflict,' Agbariya wrote in the article, in which he also praised rioters in Jaffa and young people in Abu Ghosh fighting against the Jewish state.
In another article published around a year and a half ago, the terrorist called for the Palestinian nationalist movement to align with China to fight Israel.
"From a political standpoint, the Palestinian resistance will begin to find its path, first wisely and secretly, and then publicly, to fight for the hearts of the Chinese nation and its leadership through emphasizing a common cause between the two peoples," he wrote.
Sa'ar is expected to oppose Agbariya's release.
In a statement, his office said: "The positions of Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar are well-known to the public. In general, Minister Sa'ar's position rules out the commutation of sentences for terrorists who committed acts of murder. As far as this specific case is concerned, according to the law, the minister offers his opinion following the recommendation of the parole board once all the relevant material has been brought before him and before it is brought to the president for his decision. That is also what will happen in this case."
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