The family of a Queens resident, who was killed by a Palestinian teen, has to see one of the worst day as the the killer walk free as part of Saturday’s hostage-prisoner exchange.
Hillcrest-raised Israel advocate Ari Fuld was stabbed to death in 2018 by 17-year-old Khalil Jabarin.
Ari, aged 45, had previously opposed hostage exchange agreements, particularly the 2011 deal where one Israeli soldier held by Hamas for five years was traded for 1,027 convicted prisoners, including October 7 orchestrator Yahyah Sinwar.
Ari “would have warned us what is to come from releasing those monsters,” his brother Hillel Fuld said.
“The fear is you’ll have another Sinwar being released, another mass terror attack, like they tried to do last night, at the hands of someone being released,” Fuld told The New York Post, referring to Thursday’s attempted bus bombings in Israel.
The younger Fuld acknowledged the difficulty of Jabarin’s release but accepted its necessity.
“I believe we have to do this now to bring our people back,” Fuld told The New York Post on Friday, before Jabarin’s scheduled release amongst 602 prisoners in exchange for six Israeli hostages.
The agreement includes releasing 50 prisoners serving life sentences. The broader exchange involves 1,900 Palestinian prisoners for 33 Israeli hostages during the initial ceasefire phase. Over 270 of these released prisoners were serving life terms.
Speaking from Israel, Fuld described the deal as simultaneously “horrible and beautiful”, though he had hoped Jabarin’s sentence would remain intact.
Upper East Side native Jonathan Karten, whose uncle was killed while serving as an Israeli soldier in 1996, noted that Israeli prisons often enhance terrorists’ status and leadership capabilities.
Mideast analyst Joe Truzman from the Foundation for Defending Democracy noted that terrorist groups openly specify their priority releases, typically targeting senior members and specialists.
Fuld reflected on his brother’s lasting influence as an online activist for Israel and Jewish causes. Even after being stabbed, Ari managed to shoot Jabarin, preventing additional casualties.
“He saved and changed lives in his lifetime, in his death, and now indirectly because of Ari, this guy is getting out and that means these people will be back in Israel to reunite with their families.”