Murderer gets life sentence reduced by a third, parents in shock: 'We are going crazy, she was in 11th grade'

About 23 years ago, Mundar Issa murdered his teenage cousin Ruaa in Kafr Qasim. The reason, according to the court, was an honor killing. About a year and a half later, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. But after 22 years in prison, he was released on early parole by a decision of the parole board sitting at Maasiyahu Prison.

Ruaa's parents were shocked by the decision and told Ynet: 'When we found out he was supposed to be released, we went crazy. We did not agree at all. We don't understand how they agreed.' Retired Judge Orit Afal-Gabai granted the request to allow the publication of Issa's name. He was released under restrictive conditions: staying in a hostel, working full-time, and participating in therapeutic groups. It was determined that he must be under house arrest at night while on leave.

Issa, then 25, shot his cousin four times. A few months ago, he applied to the parole board for a one-third reduction through his lawyers, Alina and Lior Karsanti. At the hearing, the representative of the Attorney General's Office explained that while Ruaa's father opposed the release, the state did not express opposition.

In an interview with Ynet, Ruaa's father, Hamdalla Issa, said that she was in 11th grade and was murdered on her way to school. 'Before the murder, Ruaa asked her sister, "There is a Toyota car here that is circling all the time, what does it want?". She didn't know he would murder her on the spot. To this day, her sister is traumatized,' he said. According to the father, the claim of family honor was a lie: 'My daughter was the best girl in the family. After she discovered that her fiancé was going down a wrong path, she decided to leave him.' He added that the ex-fiancé is a friend of the murderer. 'Because she decided to leave the fiancé, his friend decided to murder her. She was murdered in cold blood. We demand that the court system cancel the decision to release him, which caused us an injustice.' Hamdalla added that there has been no reconciliation between the families.

The state's legal representative explained: 'The circumstances of the offense are the most serious. However, the state is obligated to examine the prisoner's conduct during his imprisonment. This is a prisoner who has undergone many therapeutic processes and is integrated into the rehabilitation wing.' Issa himself stated at the hearing: 'The environment influenced me. I did an act that should not be done. I regret my act.'

Lawyers Alina and Lior Karsanti stated: 'This is a tragic event, but the prisoner's data is exemplary. Despite the family's position, all parties recommend continued gradual treatment in the community.' At the end of the hearing, the committee determined that the prisoner had convinced them he was worthy of release and no longer posed a danger. The lawyers added: 'It is a very rare case that a murderer sentenced to life imprisonment receives a full one-third reduction. He leads a normative lifestyle today, and the social interest is to rehabilitate him, not to destroy his life.'