Early on Thursday morning, after forty years behind bars, the terrorist Karim Younes who was found guilty of murdering IDF soldier Avraham Bromberg in 1980 was released from prison after completing his sentence.
The release was keenly awaited in the Arab-Israeli village of 'Ara (not far from Pardes Hanna in the north) where preparations for a festive reception were being made on Wednesday. In order to prevent the festivities from taking place, or at least subdue them, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir ordered police to ensure that the release took place quietly and without fanfare. As such, Younes was released in the early hours of the morning, after being transported to the city of Ra'anana in a Prisons Service vehicle. Only once he had arrived at the location designated for the release was his family informed that he was there.
Younes' brother, Maher, who also participated in the murder of Bromberg, is expected to be released within the next few days.
Meanwhile, the government is examining legislation that will enable the revocation of citizenship or permanent residency rights of Arab-Israelis and Arab residents of eastern Jerusalem, if they are convicted of terrorist acts. According to a report on Kan Reshet Bet, coalition whip MK Ophir Katz (Likud) has made overtures to several opposition parties (National Unity, Yesh Atid, and Yisrael Beytenu), seeking their cooperation in expediting the passage of the legislation.
If passed, the new law will enable the government to revoke the citizenship of the Younes brothers and expel them from the country, most likely sending them to PA-controlled areas, with the reasoning being that the Palestinian Authority pays the salaries not only of PA-Arab terrorists but also of convicted Arab-Israeli terrorists.
If the opposition parties refuse to cooperate in expediting the legislation, the government intends to pursue it nonetheless and will likely table a bill within the next few weeks.