Proposal: Israel to transfer 4 terrorists to Jordan jail

Draft resolution suggests transferring to Jordanian prison four Jordanians responsible for killing two IDF soldiers in 1990

Ronny Sofer|Published: 06.27.07 , 21:57

Following a request from the Hashemite royal family, the government is scheduled to discuss Sunday the possibility of transferring four Jordanian terrorists back to Jordan, to serve the remainder of their sentence in a Jordanian jail.

The four killed two Israeli soldiers 17 years ago in two separate incidents.

On November 7, 1990, three of the Jordanians, who had breached the border, encountered an IDF force. Captain Yehuda Lifshitz was killed in the exchange of fire. The three were sentenced to life imprisonment.

Five days following the first incident, the fourth, who was a minor at the time, infiltrated Israel, penetrated an IDF stronghold and murdered Staff Sergeant Pinchas Levi. He was also sentence to life imprisonment.

According to the draft resolution: "Considering the peaceful relationship and the special ties between the State of Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom, and considering the request of the Jordanian government, we are required to decide to comply with the Jordanian government's request and approve the transfer of the prisoners to serve the remainder of their prison term in a Jordanian prison."

Soldiers' families informed

The Justice Ministry has informed the families about the scheduled discussion and advised them that they could respond in writing, so that the ministers could discuss and reflect on their positions on the matter.

The draft resolution also mentions other Jordanians imprisoned in Israeli jails for committing terrorist attacks against civilians, "however, the request does not apply to them, as their deeds were committed after the peace treaty was signed between the two countries."

The resolution also clarifies that this draft resolution has no connection to other prisoner exchange negotiations.

The draft resolution was proposed by Prime mInister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter and Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann.