Abbas appoints released terrorist as advisor

PA president's new municipal advisor was former Force 17 commander, jailed for involvement in deadly terror attacks.

Palestinian prisoners enter Gaza 311 (photo credit: REUTERS)
Palestinian prisoners enter Gaza 311
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas recently appointed as an advisor one of the security prisoners released in exchange for Gilad Schalit this past October.
Muhammad Darma, who was the commander of the Palestinian Authority Presidential Guard security unit Force 17 under Yasser Arafat, was imprisoned in Israel for six years for involvement in a terror attacks.
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Darma's new position in the Palestinian Authority will be as advisor to the PA president on municipal affairs.
The appointed was made by presidential decree, which also included a promotion to the rank of general in light of his time spent in Israeli prison.
Darma was arrested in 2006 near Ramallah for his involvement planning in terrorist attacks that killed Israelis. During Operation Defensive Shield at the height of the Second Intifada in 2002, he was believed to have personally fired an RPG at an IDF tank.