Release of terrorists
Release of terroristsFlash 90

Will terrorists who have been sentenced to life imprisonment receive pardon? An order to be officially published in the coming days anchors the establishment of a committee to examine requests to shorten sentences of prisoners serving life sentences imposed by military courts in Judea and Samaria, Yediot Aharonot reported.

The dramatic move was revealed in a ruling handed down last week by the Supreme Court on the case of a PA prisoner from Ramallah who in 1988 murdered Ziva Goldovsky, 18 at the time of her death.

The murderer, who underwent a rehabilitation process in prison, turned over the years to military officials - who are the sovereign in Judea and Samaria - and asked that his sentence be shortened, a request that was rejected every time.

He appealed to the Supreme Court on the grounds that the current policy discriminates between prisoners with life sentences who were tried in Judea and Samaria and such prisoners who were tried in the rest of Israel. The Supreme Court justices decided to reject his petition and not interfere with military considerations. However, during the hearing, the change in policy which will soon take effect was revealed.

The IDF Spokesperson's Office said in response that "Recently, an order was issued under which requests for a shortening of sentence submitted to the head of Central Command by prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment in a military court will be examined by a committee recommended by a military judge before being brought before the head of the command.”

“The composition of the committee and its operating procedures are similar to those of the committee operating under the Law for Conditional Release of prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by a civil court (including terrorists tried in Israel) with the relevant adjustments to Judea and Samaria. The committee was set up, inter alia, against the background of comments made during a hearing on a petition to the Supreme Court on the matter. In the ruling, given in recent days, the Supreme Court addressed the need to establish a recommendation committee on the matter quickly.”