Now 17 years later, Haitham Faiz Muari, a convicted Palestinian terrorist who participated in the lynching was quietly released from prison Wednesday and transferred to the Gaza Strip. In 2004, Muari was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the soldiers’ murders.

This week, a military court reached a plea deal with the terrorist in a retrial, which saw his original murder conviction and charges downgraded, and his prison sentence reduced to 11 and a half years. The terrorist had already served 15 years in prison and was subsequently freed.

Simo Avrahami, the father of Yosef Avrahami, one of the soldiers murdered in the lynching, told Yedioth Ahronoth regarding the terrorist’s release, “Simo Avrahami, the father of Yossi Avrahami, said, “What can I change? Can I bring back my Yossi? I can’t. Our sons, among them my own, my oldest, were taken from us. We fight against animals who do not respect life. What could I have done today with the court’s decision, which saw fit to reduce the punishment that he got? I do not see any reason for the IDF court to deal with an appeal of such a despicable murderer. What do we want to show? That we’re just, that we’re honest?”

The victim’s son, Roi Avrahami, said he was only informed of Muari’s release when Israeli media contacted him to comment on the case.
“I found out from the news…I was called by a representative from Army Radio and she wanted to hear my initial reaction…We learned about the matter after the terrorist was likely already at his victory party in Gaza,” he said.
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(JNS.org) Frumlife contributed to this article.