Karim Youssef Fadl Younis (born December 24, 1956) is a

Palestinian citizen of Israel Palestinian citizens of Israel, also known as 48-Palestinians ( ar, فلسطينيو 48, Filastiniyyū Thamaniya Wa-Arba'in) are Arab citizens of Israel that self-identify as Palestinian. According to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, the ...

who served 40 years in Israeli prison after being convicted in 1983 of the 1980 kidnapping and murder of Israeli soldier Avraham Bromberg. After serving his sentence, he was released in 2023. Younis was the longest-serving Palestinian in Israeli prison.

Early life and conviction

Younis is from

'Ara Ara ( he, עָרָה; ar, عاره) is a village in the Haifa District in northern Israel, located in the Wadi Ara valley. Since 1985, 'Ara has been part of the Ar'ara local council (Israel), local council. It is located north of highway 65 (Isra ...

, a predominantly Arab village in Israel. Younis was arrested by the Israeli army at school on June 1, 1983. He and his cousin Maher Younis were charged with and subsequently convicted of the 1980 kidnapping and murder of Israeli soldier Avraham Bromberg in the Golan Heights. Karim and Maher were initially sentenced to death by hanging. The sentence was then changed to life in imprison, then commuted to 40 years in prison by President of Israel

Shimon Peres Shimon Peres (; he, שמעון פרס ; born Szymon Perski; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the ninth president of ...

in 2011. According to the Palestinian Prisoner's Club, he was one of several Palestinian prisoners that were supposed to be released due to a deal with the courts, but this ended up falling through. Israeli authorities refused to release Younis because he held Israeli citizenship.

Release

Younis was released on January 5, 2023 after serving his sentence. He was dropped off by Israeli police at a bus station in Ra'anana, north of Tel Aviv. His family was not informed of his release or his location, however, he managed to get in contact with them via a passerby. From there, he was taken to 'Ara, where he was greeted with large crowds. At his release, he was considered the longest-serving Palestinian citizen in Israeli prison. He is considered to have served the longest continuous sentence of any Palestinian. After Younis's release, Israeli Interior Minister

Aryeh Deri Aryeh Makhlouf Deri (, ), also Arie Deri, Arye Deri, or Arieh Deri (born 17 February 1959), is an Israeli politician. He is one of the founders of the Shas political party, and has served as Israel's Minister of the Interior, Minister of the D ...

called for Younis to be stripped of his Israeli citizenship. Deri's call was supported by Bromberg's nephew. Younis' cousin Maher was released from Eshel prison near Be'er Sheva on January 19. Maher was the second-longest serving Palestinian prisoner in Israeli prison, as he was arrested later than Karim.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Younis, Karim 1956 births Living people Palestinian hunger strikers Palestinian people convicted of murder Palestinian people imprisoned by Israel People convicted of murder by Israel Prisoners sentenced to death by Israel