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Palestinian Freed in 2011 Is Charged by Israel in a Killing Palestinian Freed in 2011 Is Charged by Israel in a Killing
(2 months later)
JERUSALEM — A Palestinian man who was among the prisoners released in 2011 in exchange for an abducted Israeli soldier was charged Monday along with his son in the April killing of an Israeli police commander as he drove to a Passover Seder in a West Bank settlement. JERUSALEM — A Palestinian man who was among the prisoners released in 2011 in exchange for an abducted Israeli soldier was charged Monday along with his son in the April killing of an Israeli police commander as he drove to a Passover Seder in a West Bank settlement.
Ziad Awad, now 42, was freed from a life sentence for murdering Palestinians suspected of collaborating with Israel as part of the 2011 deal Israel made with the militant group Hamas after the soldier, Gilad Shalit, spent five years in captivity in the Gaza Strip.Ziad Awad, now 42, was freed from a life sentence for murdering Palestinians suspected of collaborating with Israel as part of the 2011 deal Israel made with the militant group Hamas after the soldier, Gilad Shalit, spent five years in captivity in the Gaza Strip.
The authorities said Mr. Awad and his 18-year-old son, Izzedin Hassan Ziad Awad, were arrested May 7 for the April 14 slaying of the police commander, Baruch Mizrahi, but the information was made public only on Monday, amid Israel’s aggressive crackdown on Hamas, which it holds responsible for the recent kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers.The authorities said Mr. Awad and his 18-year-old son, Izzedin Hassan Ziad Awad, were arrested May 7 for the April 14 slaying of the police commander, Baruch Mizrahi, but the information was made public only on Monday, amid Israel’s aggressive crackdown on Hamas, which it holds responsible for the recent kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers.
Among the nearly 400 Palestinians who have been arrested in the current operation are more than 50 who were also released in the Shalit deal. The Passover shooting occurred in the Hebron area, the center of Israel’s current search for the kidnapped teenagers and its campaign against Hamas.Among the nearly 400 Palestinians who have been arrested in the current operation are more than 50 who were also released in the Shalit deal. The Passover shooting occurred in the Hebron area, the center of Israel’s current search for the kidnapped teenagers and its campaign against Hamas.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Awad family’s home in the village of Idhna destroyed and said that Mr. Awad is a “Hamas man, and his arrest is part of the overall effort we are making to fight Hamas.”Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Awad family’s home in the village of Idhna destroyed and said that Mr. Awad is a “Hamas man, and his arrest is part of the overall effort we are making to fight Hamas.”
The authorities said that the younger Mr. Awad had produced the murder weapon, an AK-47 stained with his father’s DNA, and told interrogators that his father said his motive was religious because Islam promised paradise to anyone who kills a Jew.The authorities said that the younger Mr. Awad had produced the murder weapon, an AK-47 stained with his father’s DNA, and told interrogators that his father said his motive was religious because Islam promised paradise to anyone who kills a Jew.
Mr. Mizrahi’s wife, Hadas, who was pregnant and wounded in the shooting, said Monday that his death shows the danger of releasing prisoners, an increasingly contentious issue in Israel, and called for Israel to institute the death penalty.Mr. Mizrahi’s wife, Hadas, who was pregnant and wounded in the shooting, said Monday that his death shows the danger of releasing prisoners, an increasingly contentious issue in Israel, and called for Israel to institute the death penalty.
“If they did not have a bargaining chip, my husband would have been alive today,” Ms. Mizrahi said in an interview on Army Radio. “I hope a death penalty will deter them and prevent them from killing again — like this person, who had killed in the past, was released from prison, and then killed again.”“If they did not have a bargaining chip, my husband would have been alive today,” Ms. Mizrahi said in an interview on Army Radio. “I hope a death penalty will deter them and prevent them from killing again — like this person, who had killed in the past, was released from prison, and then killed again.”