A former Palestinian prisoner at the Rafah crossing in the southern Gaza Strip after being released in December 2011 during the second phase of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)
A Palestinian convicted on terrorism charges and released as part of the Gilad Shalit prisoner swap in 2011 was caught working illegally at a construction site in the central Israel city of Ra’anana on Monday.
The suspect, identified as Qawareiq Hindawi, 27, was detained along with seven other Palestinian workers who were also in Israel illegally.
Hindawi was released from prison five years ago as part of the prisoner exchange for the captive Israeli soldier, after serving four years of a six-year sentence for membership in an illegal organization and criminal possession of a weapon.
Under the terms of his release, he was barred from reentering Israel, and may now face serving the remainder of his prison sentence.
Released Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit (second right), walks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (second left), then-defense minister Ehud Barak (left), and ex-chief of staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz (right), at the Tel Nof air base in southern Israel, October 18, 2011. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry/Flash90)
Asked why he had broken the terms of his release, Hindawi told police: “This is our land. When we want to, we enter. With all due respect, this is our land. You are the first to say I need a permit.”
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Editionby email and never miss our top stories
In the 2011 swap, Israel freed 1,027 Palestinians in return for the abducted Israeli soldier. At least six Israelis have since been killed in attacks perpetrated by Palestinian prisoners released in the exchange who returned to terrorist activity.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
