An Israeli Arab, Karim Younis, imprisoned for 40 years in Israel for the murder of a soldier, was released on Thursday January 5 and welcomed by a crowd in his hometown of Ara in the north of the country.
64-year-old Karim Younis has become a symbol among Palestinians, having spent 40 years in prison, the longest period for a prisoner in Israel, according to Palestinian sources.
Israeli Arabs are the descendants of Palestinians who remained on their lands after the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. They represent nearly 20% of the population.
A “sacrifice” for Palestine
Wearing a traditional black and white keffiyeh on his shoulders, the ex-prisoner, waving a Palestinian flag, was welcomed by his relatives and hundreds of people in Ara.
"
Every prisoner's story is the story of an entire people and I am proud to be among those who sacrificed themselves for Palestine
," said Karim Younis, a member of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' secular Fatah party.
The man was released the morning of the prison of Hadarim (north), according to the Club of the Palestinian prisoners.
He was arrested in 1983 with his cousin Maher Younis for the murder of soldier Avraham Bromberg who was hitchhiking in the Golan Heights, a Syrian plateau occupied and annexed by Israel.
Reflection on the forfeiture of nationality
On Tuesday, the new Israeli Interior Minister Arie Dery said he wanted to strip the two cousins of their Israeli citizenship, a provision that is illegal in Israel.
“
These people cannot be considered to continue to hold Israeli citizenship and the stripping of their citizenship will be an important message for those who have become symbols for their terrorist acts
,” he said.
Karim Younis has no other nationality, his lawyer Ghaid Qassem told AFP.
He was initially sentenced to death, but his sentence was reduced to life and then 40 years in prison.
"
His hair and his wrinkles have changed but his resilience has increased tenfold
," said his brother Nadim Younis.
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Karim Younis was among the group of Palestinian prisoners who were to be released in 2013 as part of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks led by US Secretary of State John Kerry, but their release was ultimately denied by Israel and the Palestinians. Discussions were then suspended.
In 2017, he was named a member of Fatah's Central Committee by Mahmoud Abbas.
