Palestinian teen convicted of stabbing Jewish neighbor could be freed in Israel-Hamas deal: report

An Israeli family is concerned about the potential release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Israeli hostages in Gaza that could include a teenager sentenced to 12 years in prison for stabbing one of the family members.

Nafoz Hamad was convicted earlier this month of attempted murder and obstruction of justice for the December 2021 stabbing of Moriah Cohen in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarra, an area that became a flashpoint in the May 2021 conflict between Israel and Hamas.

On Wednesday, Cohen was informed that the teen, who was 14 at the time of the stabbing, could be released, The Times of Israel reported.

Hamad is one of 300 Palestinians on a list who could be released as part of a deal between Israel and the terror group.

“The children were with my wife when she was stabbed and we promised them that they would never see her [the terrorist] again and that she would be in prison for the rest of her life,” said Dvir Cohen, Moriah’s husband.

“I don’t know what will happen next Saturday if my wife opens the door and sees this devil in front of her.”

Under the terms of the deal, Israel will release 150 Palestinians during a four-day ceasefire in exchange for 50 Israeli women and children who have been held by Hamas in Gaza since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israeli communities.

Another 150 Palestinian prisoners could be released at a later date in exchange for more hostages, the news report said.

Cohen, a reservist with the Israel Defense Forces, told the newspaper he plans to fight the Hamad’s release.

“About two weeks ago, the sentence was handed down to her and we thought that with this we had closed the legal affair,” he said. “Today we seek legal help again — we very much hope the terrorist will not come back here or that they at least give her a deportation order.”