Hamas prisoner denied parole because of Israelis held by Hamas in Gaza

A Hamas operative’s request for an early release from an Israeli prison is rejected by a parole committee over the terror group’s continued holding of Israeli citizens and the bodies of fallen soldiers in Gaza.

The Palestinian man, a Gaza resident serving a three-year prison sentence for national security offenses related to contact with Hamas and training with its armed forces, crossed into Israel from Gaza in order to participate in violent protests against Israeli forces.

According to Hebrew media reports, the parole committee bluntly explains that “it is not the committee’s job to create pressure on Hamas to release [the Israelis held in Gaza], but the committee believes that the early release of a prisoner who belongs to the Hamas terror group can and will damage the public trust in the judicial system.”

The prisoner, the committee adds, has not abandoned the ideology that drove his actions.