After having served a staggering 40-year sentence, one of the longest-serving Palestinian prisoners in Israel's history was released from captivity on Thursday, though members of the newly-inaugurated right-wing government called for him to be stripped of his citizenship.
Karim 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.
In his hometown, the Israeli Arab village of Ara, Kounis received a hero's 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.
"It was 40 years full of stories, prisoners’ stories and each story is a story of a nation. I 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 Palestinian cause," Younis said.
Arabs 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. They have long debated their place in Israel's politics, balancing their Palestinian heritage with their Israeli citizenship, with many identifying as or with the Palestinians.
Palestinians regard brethren jailed by Israel as heroes in a struggle for statehood in territories Israel captured in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Israel considers those convicted of violence against its citizens to be terrorists.
On Tuesday, Israeli Interior Minister Aryeh Deri called for Younis to be stripped of his Israeli citizenship. "When we are speaking about someone who has become a symbol for committing criminal acts of terror, revoking his citizenship will send an important message,” Deri wrote in a letter to Israel’s Attorney General.
