Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas reached out to one of the released life-term prisoners, Yasser Abu Bakr, extending his congratulations on the release. Abu Bakr, a former member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades during the Second Intifada, had served 23 years in prison.
Abu Bakr was convicted for orchestrating an attack in Netanya in March 2002 that claimed the lives of an Israeli civilian and an infant. He was also found guilty of murdering Police Officer Konstantin Danilov near Baka al-Gharbiyye during the same month. His record included attempts to plan multiple attacks, resulting in several life sentences that accumulated to more than 100 years of imprisonment.
"لا داعي لمشاهد الفرح والسرور في حضرة شهداء غزة"
الرئيس محمود عباس يهاتف الأسير المحرر القيادي في حركة فتح ياسر ابو بكر والذي قضى 23 عاما في معتقلات الاحتلال. pic.twitter.com/NF36vyjLXh— قناة عودة الفضائية (@AwdehTV) January 25, 2025
The conversation captured Abbas congratulating the perpetrator. Upon reaching his home in Ramallah, Abu Bakr made a statement indicating there was "no need for scenes of joy due to the many casualties in Gaza."
Yisrael Beiteinu party Chairman Avigdor Liberman issued a response on his Twitter account: "Holocaust denier Mahmoud Abbas shows his true face again – a supporter of terrorism who congratulates despicable murderers. Someone who embraces perpetrators with blood on their hands is himself a terrorist, and cannot be a partner in any process, certainly not in supervising the Rafah crossing."
