Jordan will not release four terrorists before the terms it committed to in an agreement with Israel are fulfilled.
Israel repatriated Khaled Abu-Ghalyoun, Yousef Abu-Ghalyoun, Abdul-Karim al-Sanee and Sultan Ajlouni to Jordan in May of last year at the request of the kingdom, considered to be the friendliest Arab state to Israel. The four were serving life sentences for fatal attacks on Israeli troops in 1990. Jordan said they would spend at least 18 months in a Jordanian prison as part of the deal.
Families of the four have recently agitated for their early release, citing Israel’s exchange this month of Lebanese prisoners for dead Israeli bodies.
On Monday, a Jordanian foreign ministry official said Jordan would not release the four early, partly because it would jeopardize attempts to release other Jordanians in Israeli jails.
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