Israeli police to investigate celebrations for release of longest-serving terror prisoner
Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir ordered the Israeli Police on Sunday to investigate celebrations for the release of Arab-Israeli Karim Younis, one of the longest-serving security prisoners jailed for terror.
Arab-Israeli terrorist Karim Younis, who was released after 40 years in an Israeli prison for the kidnap and murder of an IDF soldier in 1983, is treated to a hero’s welcome in his hometown near Haifa. Jan. 5, 2023. Photo by Jamal Awad/Flash90
The order came as Defence Minister Yoav Galant revoked travel permits for three Palestinian Authority officials who visited Younis at the family’s home in ‘Ara, south of Haifa.
Karim Younis and his cousin, Maher, killed Cpl. Avraham Bromberg in 1980 as he was on his way to an army base in the Golan. They shot Bromberg, threw him out of a moving car and left him for dead by the side of a road. Bromberg died several days later.
The two served 40 years behind bars and are considered Palestinian celebrities as the longest-serving prisoners. Karim was released on Thursday. Maher is expected to be released by the end of January. The two were given life sentences, but in 2012, then-President Shimon Peres commuted their sentences to 40 years.
In spite of a police ban on celebrations, Younis’s friends set up a tent and Palestinian Authority officials visited him at his family’s home in Ara, south of Haifa, on Saturday.
The three Palestinian Authority officials — Mahmoud al-Aloul, Azzam al-Ahmad, and Rawhi Fattouh — entered Israel using travel permits given to high-level Palestinian officials. On Sunday, Defense Minister Yoav Galant cancelled their entry permits.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Aryeh Deri is moving to revoke the cousins’ Israeli citizenship.
Whether the Younis cousins can be stripped of their citizenship and deported is questionable. The law currently allows this if the person holds citizenship in a second country. They only hold Israeli citizenship but could potentially be deported to the Palestinian Authority.
If they are stripped of their citizenship, the two would still be allowed to remain in Israel for a period of time under a different status, such as a temporary resident.
