Ahmed Ben Younes Al-Barrak

Israel is the last country to talk about justice, as its hands are full of Palestinian blood, Nabil Al-Sharif, Jordan’s former minister of information, told News Agency on Sunday following Israeli reaction to the release of Ahmed Dagamseh after serving 20 years in jail.

Dagamseh, who was jailed in 1997 after shooting dead seven Israeli girls, was released on Sunday after serving a life sentence. In his first statement to the media, the father of three girls said that he is not a politician and wants nothing to do with politics.

“I just want to spend what’s left of my life with my family and beloved ones. I am not a politician nor interested in politics,” Dagamseh said in a statement to Al-Jazirah TV upon arrival to his hometown Ebdar in the northern governorate of Irbid some 100 km from the capital Amman.

The news of his release was welcomed by Jordanian society, which had been eagerly awaiting Dagamseh’s release.

However, Israelis were outraged, describing Dagamseh as a murderer who should remain in prison. But Al-Sharif said Israel is not in a position to express outrage.

“The is a pure Jordanian internal affairs issue. Dagamseh did what he did and was found guilty by the court, which sentenced (him) to life imprisonment. The man served his time and was released. The Israeli hands are stained with Palestinian blood and they are the last nation in the world to talk about justice,” Al-Sharif said.

“They should look at the murders committed by Israeli soldiers on a daily basis against innocent Palestinians before judging others,” he added.

Dagamseh’s cousin, Mohammed Yahya Dagamseh, told AFP by phone: “The authorities released Ahmad Dagamseh this Sunday around 1 a.m. after he finished his jail term. He is now a free man.”

Ahmed Dagamseh, a fomer soldier, was released from the Bab Al-Hawa prison in Irbid. Videos circulated on social media showed Dagamseh greeting relatives and posing for selfies with visitors.

Dagamseh, who suffers from high blood pressure and diabetes, was hospitalized in 2014 after he went on a five-day hunger strike to demand his release.

Al-Sharif, however, said things should not be taken out of perspective.

“Exaggerated celebration of Dagamseh’s release is unnecessary and sends a wrong message to the world. He should be left alone and given space to have a normal life with his family,” he said.

In March 1997, Dagamseh fired an automatic weapon at Israeli schoolgirls on a trip to the Jordan-Israel border, killing seven of them and wounding five others and a teacher.

He had been sentenced to life imprisonment, which in Jordan is equivalent to 20 years.

A family member said he was 46 years old at the time of his release, which would have made him 26 when he was sentenced.

Dagamseh, who is originally from Irbid’s Bani Kananah area near the Israeli border, was a married father of three at the time.

His motives were never entirely clear, but he told the National Security Court at his trial that he fired his weapon at the schoolgirls after they mocked him while he was praying.

Jordan’s late King Hussein condemned the attack and later traveled to Israel to offer his condolences to the families of the murdered schoolgirls. Amman also paid compensation.

Dagamseh was driven home on Sunday in a convoy of dozens of cars whose drivers were honking their horns, a video shared on social media showed.