Terrorist released in hostage deal arrested in Jerusalem park

Arab terrorist freed in a hostage deal two years ago released to house arrest after being nabbed carrying a box cutter in a Jerusalem park.

By World Israel News Staff

An Arab terrorist who was granted an early release nearly two years ago as part of a deal securing the release of Israeli hostages from Gaza has been released to house arrest after he was arrested for carrying a blade in a Jerusalem park.

Sultan Sarhan, a 23-year-old resident of the predominantly Arab neighborhood of Silwan in east Jerusalem, has been arrested nearly two dozen times over the years for various terror-related offenses, including throwing Molotov cocktails and stoning Israeli cars.

In November 2023, Sarhan was released, along with some 240 other jailed Arab terrorists, in exchange for the return of Israeli hostages taken captive by Gaza terrorists a month earlier.

Last week, Sarhan was arrested while carrying a box cutter in Jerusalem’s Train Track Park (Park HaMesila).

On Wednesday last week, Sarhan was brought before a judge after police pushed to have the repeat offender detained until the end of his trial, warning that Sarhan was a threat to public safety.

However, Judge Ofir Tischler issued a preliminary order instructing police to release Sarhan to house arrest with an electronic ankle monitor.

A final hearing in the matter is scheduled to take place on Monday, after which Sarhan is expected to return to his home in Jerusalem.

Journalist Elchanan Gruner blasted the handling of the case, noting that under the terms of Sarhan’s early release as part of the November 2023 deal, the state is obligated to nullify Sarhan’s parole in the event of a new arrest and return him to prison for his previous conviction.

“Had the State of Israel activated the mechanism to return released terrorists to serve their previous sentences, he would have automatically gone back to serve a detention period of at least several months,” Gruner said.