Perpetrator of 2000 lynching of 2 Israelis to go free in deal; victim’s brother: ‘Inconceivable’

As Israelis mark 25 years since a Palestinian mob lynched two IDF reservists in Ramallah, one of its perpetrators is set to go free in the hostage deal’s first phase.

Raed Sheikh, the prisoner slated for release, was a Palestinian police officer who took part in the October 12, 2000, lynching of reservists Vadim Norzhich and Yossi Avrahami after they accidentally entered the West Bank city and were taken into police custody.

A frenzied crowd quickly formed around the station as rioters called for their death. The rioters eventually stormed the building and murdered the two Israelis, mutilating their bodies and later parading them around Ramallah’s city center.

During the break-in, Sheikh took an iron rod to Norzhich, beating his head in until he bled profusely, according to an indictment quoted by Yedioth Ahronoth at the time. Sheikh was arrested months after the lynching and convicted by a military court in 2003, which sentenced him to two life terms.

Sheikh will be deported abroad following his release, according to the Justice Ministry.

Norzhich’s brother, Michael, calls the terror convict’s pending release “inconceivable” so close to the 25th anniversary of his sibling’s murder.

The bereaved brother says the victim left behind his pregnant wife, Irena, and his son David, who never knew his father before his death.

“If we are freeing the murderer, it should be clear — aside from the great pain of me and my family — the terrorist will return to terror,” Norzhich told Ynet. “They will go back to killing the Jews; this is their real goal.”

However, he adds that he is happy for the hostages expected to return home to their families, calling their release “very important and moving.”