Longest-Serving Israeli Security Prisoner, Convicted of Murdering Soldier, Released After 40 Years

The longest-serving prisoner in an Israeli prison jailed for security-related offenses was released from jail, after serving 40 years. Karim Younis, 66, an Israeli-Arab from the northern Israeli city of Ara, was freed from Hadarim Prison, north of Tel Aviv, very early this morning. Younis was carried through the village while waving a Palestinian flag. Karim Younis and his cousin Maher murdered an Israeli soldier, Cpl. Avraham Bromberg, in 1980 after offering him a ride home from his army base in the Golan Heights. His life sentence was commuted to 40 years in 2012 by President Shimon Peres. He was released at 4 a.m. in an effort to prevent celebrations outside of the prison. “I am very proud to be one of those who made sacrifices for Palestine and we were ready to sacrifice more for the sake of the cause of Palestine,” he told reporters after returning home. Earlier this week, Interior Minister Arye Deri called for Younis, and any other citizen convicted of terror-related offenses, to be stripped of Israeli citizenship.