Karim Younis, 60, was convicted of kidnapping and killing Israeli soldier in 1983
\n Gaza
\nOne of Israel\u2019s longest serving Palestinian prisoners went free on Thursday after completing a 40-year sentence, as members of the new right-wing government called for him to be stripped of his citizenship.
\nKarim Younis, 60, was convicted of kidnapping and killing Israeli soldier Avraham Bromberg in 1983 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. He served the longest continuous sentence of any Palestinian, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Association.
\nIn his hometown, the Israeli Arab village of Ara, Kounis received a hero\u2019s welcome. Shrouded in a traditional Palestinian shawl, he was greeted by family, friends and supporters chanting and carrying him through the streets on their shoulders.
\n\u201cIt was 40 years full of stories, prisoners\u2019 stories and each story is a story of a nation,\u201d Younis said. \u201cI am very proud to be one of those who made sacrifices for Palestine and we were ready to sacrifice more for the sake of the cause of Palestine.\u201d
\nArabs in Israel account for around a fifth of the population and most are descendants of Palestinians who remained within the newly founded state after its 1948 war of independence.
\nThey have long debated their place in Israel\u2019s politics, balancing their Palestinian heritage with their Israeli citizenship, with many identifying as or with the Palestinians.
\nPalestinians regard brethren jailed by Israel as heroes in a struggle for statehood in territories Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war. Israel considers those convicted of violence against its citizens to be terrorists.
\nOn Tuesday, Israeli Interior Minister Aryeh Deri called for Younis to be stripped of his Israeli citizenship. Some relatives of Israelis killed in Palestinian violence have also voiced support for this kind of measure.
\n\u201cIsraeli citizenship is a privilege. An Israeli citizen can\u2019t hold an Israeli ID card with one hand and murder a soldier with another and it can\u2019t be that the murderer will be freed from jail and walk around like anyone among our nation,\u201d Avraham Bromberg\u2019s nephew, who is also named Avraham in his uncle\u2019s memory, told the Israeli Walla news site on Monday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Karim Younis, 60, was convicted of kidnapping and killing Israeli soldier in 1983 Gaza One of Israel\u2019s longest serving Palestinian prisoners went free on Thursday after completing a 40-year sentence, as members of the new right-wing government called for him to be stripped of his citizenship. Karim Younis, 60, was convicted of kidnapping and killing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":305759,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-305739","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n