The Israeli supreme court has decided to suspend the release of Yoram Skolnick, a Jewish settler condemned to life imprisonment for the murder of a Palestinian in 1993 but whose sentence had been lifted, a court source said Sunday.
Three supreme court justices, including its president Aaron Barak, gave a positive response to the appeal which had been lodged against Skolnick's liberation Sunday.
Barak also announced the final decision on the settler's release would be made in a few days by a panel of seven justices who will ascertain whether Skolnick should still be considered a threat out of detention.
Sentencing commission president Eli Sharon decided late last week to allow the settler's release on bail, despite the views of Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein, who sees Skolnick as "a public danger."
According to Sharon, the convict expressed "sincere remorse over his acts" and several rabbis have answered for him. Before his conditional liberation, he will however have to pay the 12,000-dollar bail required for release and will be banned from travelling abroad.
Other conditions to Skolnick's freedom would include a weekly registration with the police and a ban from entering the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Skolnick was convicted of killing a Palestinian who had allegedly stabbed a settler -- JERUSALEM (AFP)
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