Supreme Court Justices Yitzhak Amit, Daphne Barak-Erez and Anat Baron decided Tuesday to reduce the sentence of a convicted Hamas terrorist in charge of the "civilian branch" in Jerusalem.
The justices ruled that, contrary to the decision given in Jerusalem District Court, terrorist Fouad Hamdiyeh will be sentenced to four and a half years instead of five and a half in Israeli prison.
Hamdiyeh was a part of Hamas's 'advisory council' in Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem, and was later appointed to a high-ranking position on that council. He played a significant role in the council, which is designed to support the group's terror activities.
Barak-Erez stressed the severity of Hamdiyeh's actions - but would not uphold the original sentence.
"In the concrete circumstances of the present case there is a place to relieve some of the sentence of the appellant, the prison sentence imposed on him will be four and a half years in prison, without detracting from the seriousness we attach to the acts which he was convicted," she ruled.
Hamdiyeh cooperated with the Israel Security Agency (ISA or Shin Bet) and Israel Police in their investigation of four other terrorists, she argued, justifying reducing the sentence.
The ruling surfaces Tuesday in the wake of multiple stabbing, car, and shooting attacks in Jerusalem - one of which was perpetrated by a convicted Hamas terrorist who served in Israeli prisons from 2013-14.