Hamas has released the Palestinian gunman who shot and killed Israeli Border Police officer Barel Hadaria Shmueli in August during clashes at the Gaza border.
According to Yediot Aharonot, the terrorist who shot Shmueli is not a Hamas member, but is active in the military wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad. He was transferred to a Hamas detention center in Gaza and held there for several weeks before being released.
Barel Hadaria Shmueli, 21, succumbed to his wounds nine days after the shooting. Shortly after the incident, Bennett vowed that Israel “will settle the scores with those who harm our soldiers and civilians,” in reference to the Gaza terrorists who shot Shmueli.
The man’s identity was kept secret for fears of Israel eliminating the terrorist, but with the gunman’s release his picture has now been publicized, says i24 News.
According to the reporting, Hamas believes that Israel will attempt to take out Shmueli’s killer not during a period of calm but in the event of another military escalation with the Gaza Strip.
However, Hamas has been operating under the assumption that the terrorist’s identity is already known to Israeli intelligence and that he has been blacklisted as an assassination target.
In the case of another violent confrontation between Israel and Gaza, the terrorist would go underground similar to other targets of Israeli assassination, according the report.
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