A few days ago, Yaron Friedman received an earth-shattering phone call. A Justice Ministry representative informed him that the man who killed his brother Guy in 1992 had applied for an early release.
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Mohammed Hassan Agbariya, an Israeli Arab, was sentenced to life in prison for killing three Israel Defense Forces soldiers in the infamous "Night of the Pitchforks" attack.
According to Israeli law, a terrorist serving more than one life sentence can apply for an early release after 15 years in jail. And so, 29 years after the murder, Agbariya has decided that enough is enough, and filed a motion.
The courts are set to review his request on Sunday. The law that requires the justice system to convene for such motions is insane.
Unfortunately, the precedent for such a move was set with the release of terrorist Rushdi Abu Mokh, also an Arab Israeli, who was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the kidnapping and murder of Israeli soldier Moshe Tamam in 1984, but whose sentence was reduced to 35 years. His request for an early release was approved by then-Prime Minister Shimon Peres and then-Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman.
Just imagine how the Tamam family must have felt like, to be betrayed by the Israeli government and seeing Mokh return to his hometown and be hailed as a national hero.
Agbariya is a murderer who does not regret having committed a heinous crime. He continues to incite terrorism from prison.
In an article posted just a few weeks ago, he called on the Palestinians to continue the struggle against Israel. In another piece published a year ago, he called for the Palestinian nationalist movement to align with China to fight Israel.
Let's also not forget that throughout his prison sentence he has been receiving a fat check from the Palestinian Authority.
And yet, instead of stripping Agbariya of his Israeli citizenship and blocking his salary, the government is willing to consider shortening his sentence.
The final decision is in the hands of Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar. Upon him rests the responsibility to denounce any benefits to terrorists and the obligation to stand by bereaved families at such torturing times.
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