“Terrorists should only have one punishment, and that’s the death penalty. There’s no reason for us to feel sorry for him.”

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

Dozens of protesters gathered outside of Maasiyahu Prison in central Israel on Wednesday morning, ahead of a parole board meeting to determine whether a terrorist who murdered an IDF soldier in the 1980s should be granted compassionate release from incarceration.

Walid Daqqa was one of several men who kidnapped and murdered active duty Israeli soldier Moshe Tamam in 1984 and has served nearly 40  years of his life sentence.

Daqqa is now terminally ill and his health has seriously deteriorated in recent years. He was granted a parole hearing for early release, which would allow him to die at home, much to the outrage of his victim’s family.

Tamam’s family told Hebrew-language media that they were not informed by the authorities that Daqqa’s request for a parole hearing was granted.

“We found out about the hearing literally by accident,” Ortal Tamam, the victim’s niece, told Channel 14 from the demonstration outside of the prison.

She noted that as a terrorist, Daqqa should have been subject to a specialized, stringent parole hearing in which the Shin Bet and the victim’s family are given an opportunity to present testimony.

Instead, Tamam said, Daqqa was simply granted a standard parole hearing – in which his chances of release are significantly higher – and the family was not informed about the decision.

Several members of the Knesset joined the Tamam family and their supporters at the protest, saying they were vehemently opposed to Daqqa’s potential release.

“It’s impossible for a terrorist to be released from prison before serving all of his time. He should rot and die in prison,” MK Moshe Solomon (Religious Zionism) told Channel 14.

“This is a person who murdered an IDF soldier 37 years ago. I don’t understand why this is up for discussion at all…he has no humanitarian or medical rights, because he denied those rights to [the victim.]”

MK Yitzhak Kreuer of the Otzma Yehudit party expressed similar sentiments.

“I am ashamed that we are in this situation,” he said. “Terrorists should only have one punishment, and that’s the death penalty. There’s no reason for us to feel sorry for him.

“As the [rabbinic] sages have taught us, ‘those who are merciful to the cruel end up being cruel to the merciful,’” he added.

The post ‘Rot and die in prison’ – Outraged MKs, family protest parole hearing for terrorist appeared first on World Israel News.

As WNBA star Brittney Griner remains in Russian detention, Naama Issachar – who was imprisoned in Russia in 2019 – is speaking out for the first time.

The post WATCH: Young Israeli woman held in Russian prison tells about her ordeal appeared first on World Israel News.

Yaron Friedman, bereaved brother of IDF Sgt. Guy Friedman protests outside an Israeli court against the potential release of one of four terrorists who brutally murdered his brother and two other soldiers in 1992.

The post WATCH: Bereaved brother to Israeli court: Don’t release my brother’s killer appeared first on World Israel News.

After serving five years for assaulting several women, Katsav will be released from prison.

An Israeli parole board has accepted an appeal for early release by a former president who is serving a prison sentence for sex crimes.

The board ruled Sunday that Moshe Katsav will be freed next week after serving five years of his seven-year jail term. The board had twice rejected Katsav’s parole requests.

Katsav’s attorney, Zion Amir, said his client burst into tears upon hearing the news.

The state attorney requested that the release be postponed by a week to leave room for an appeal.

If released, he will be faced with several constraints, including a ban on media interviews.

Katsav resigned in June 2007 after being charged with rape and sexual harassment. After a prolonged legal battle and several appeals,  he began his sentence in 2011 and has repeatedly professed his innocence.

Israel’s presidency is a largely ceremonial office, typically filled by a respected elder statesman expected to rise above politics and serve as a moral compass. Most political power is in the hands of the prime minister.

By: AP and World Israel News Staff

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