WASHINGTON (JTA) — Benjamin Netanyahu rejected French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s request to free a convicted terrorist.
The Israeli prime minister’s response came Aug. 13 following a letter from Sarkozy asking that Salah Hassan Hamori, a Palestinian who has French residency status, be granted early parole. Hamori was convicted in 2005 of planning to assassinate Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, Ha’aretz reported.
Netanyahu responded that Hamori has not expressed remorse for his crime and according to the Israeli attorney general still poses a public threat.
Palestinian groups have equated Hamori’s imprisonment to that of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier captured by Hamas-affiliated terrorists in June 2006 who has been held since in the Gaza Strip. According to Israeli Channel 2, Sarkozy sent the letter following a visit from Hamori’s mother.
