Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has rejected a plea for early release for terrorist Salah Hamouri, a Palestinian Authority Arab from the Jerusalem area with French citizenship, who planned to murder Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the former Sephardi Chief Rabbi and current spiritual leader of Shas.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy had requested Hamouri's early release following pressure from Hamouri's mother.
Netanyahu explained that Hamouri does not meet the conditions for early release, as experts say he remains a threat to the general public. In addition, Hamouri has not expressed remorse for his actions.
Hamouri was arrested in 2005 following a Shin Bet investigation, and admitted that he had been part of a plot to kill Rabbi Yosef. He and two other terrorists had already planned the attack, but had been unable to carry it out due to IDF presence in the area.
One of the terrorists had done surveillance of the rabbi's home and his security arrangements while working as a delivery man in a nearby store. The terrorist had even delivered food to the rabbi's house, giving him an opportunity to note the layout of the building.
According to the plan, Hamouri was to open fire on Rabbi Yosef as the latter stepped from his car, while a third terrorist threw hand grenades at the rabbi's house and his security personnel.
French leaders had asked Israel to release Hamouri early due to “good behavior.” Pro-Hamouri activists compared Hamouri to Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier kidnapped by terrorists during a raid on his base in the western Negev, in which two soldiers were killed. Shalit also bears French citizenship.