Jerusalem Jettisons Jailed Jordanians, Jaber Joins Joyous Jubilation

Abdullah Abu Jaber, the longest-serving Jordanian prisoner in an Israeli jail, was released and sent home on Tuesday after serving out his 20-year sentence for planting a bus bomb and wounding 13 passengers in December 2000. Abu Jaber, 44, received a hero’s welcome in the Baqaa Palestinian refugee camp outside the capital of Amman, saying, “I left behind my brothers in the prisons of the occupation … but thank God I have been reunited with my family and people.” In related news, on Tuesday Jerusalem released two Jordanians accused of crossing into Israel carrying knives and rope during last month’s fighting in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. They will be tried for their crimes in Jordan, officials said. While the two neighboring countries signed a peace treaty in 1994, relations have become severely strained in recent years over water disputes, diplomatic incidents and Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and management of holy sites in Jerusalem’s Old City.