Jordan releases soldier who shot Israeli girls

By Laith al-Junaidi

AMMAN (AA) – A Jordanian soldier who was convicted of killing seven Israeli girls has been released after serving his sentence, according to his family.

In 1997, Ahmad Daqamseh opened fire on a group of Israeli schoolgirls during a school field trip in the border area between Israel and Jordan.

He was slapped with a life sentence – which is equivalent to 20 years in prison under Jordanian law – after a military court found him mentally unstable.

“My father has been released and he is now among us,” Daqamseh’s son, Seif, said, according to local media.

Local media said Daqamseh had arrived in his home village near the northern city of Irbid early Sunday.

There was no comment from Israel on the soldier’s release, while Jordanian authorities are yet to comment.

Jordan has signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, becoming the second Arab country, after Egypt, to sign a peace accord with the self-proclaimed Jewish state.