Terrorist behind 1996 murder of IDF soldier may be freed in swap

The family of a slain IDF soldier, murdered by Palestinian terrorists, is warning Israel not to “create the next Sinwar” by freeing his killer.

By World Israel News Staff

The nephew of an Israeli soldier murdered by a Palestinian terrorist nearly three decades ago is urging the Israeli government not to release his uncle’s killer. The terrorist is reportedly among those slated for release under a ceasefire and hostage deal brokered by President Donald Trump.

Staff Sergeant Sharon Edri, 20, was kidnapped and murdered in 1996 by three terrorists who had disguised themselves as religious Jewish men. His dismembered body was discovered seven months later, buried in several locations outside Surif, a Palestinian Authority-controlled municipality near Hebron.

One of the terrorists, Jamal al-Hur, was convicted in 1998 and sentenced to five life terms for his involvement in Edri’s murder and for participating in a Tel Aviv bombing that killed three people and wounded 48 others.

Edri’s nephew, Jonathan Karten, told The Jerusalem Post that his family was horrified to learn from a news broadcast that al-Hur is reportedly on the list of Palestinian terrorists expected to be released from Israeli prisons in exchange for the freedom of 48 Israeli hostages — living and dead — still held in Gaza.

“If we release Jamal al-Hur, we’ll be giving [Hamas] back their next [Yahya] Sinwar,” Karten said, warning that “releasing repeat offenders only ensures more bloodshed.”

Karten acknowledged the government’s immense pressure to free the hostages but cautioned that doing so could be disastrous for Israel’s national security.

“I want peace just as much as the next person but not at a price that cannot be paid,” he told the Post. “Not if we are just going to be kicking the can down the road and giving them their next Sinwar.”

He emphasized the need to “weigh the likelihood of the terrorist killing again, multiplied by the number of people he’ll kill, against the net present value of a loved one,” arguing that releasing thousands of terrorists would result in more bereaved families.

If released, Karten warned, al-Hur would return to his hometown of Surif, located just five minutes away from the home of Edri’s mother.