AMMAN (Reuters) - A Jordanian soldier who killed seven Israeli schoolgirls has been freed after serving 20 years in prison, with many Jordanians celebrating his release and calling him a national hero, witnesses and family sources said on Sunday.

Ahmad Daqamseh, a Jordanian soldier convicted of killing seven Israeli schoolgirls on March 13, 1997, is seen at Um Alluol prison in the city of Mafraq, Jordan, July 30, 2013. Picture taken July 30, 2013. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed

Ahmad Daqamseh, 45, was taken to his family home in the village of Ibdir near the city of Irbid in northern Jordan where dozens of relatives and wellwishers gave him a rousing welcome.

Jordanian security services set up checkpoints around the village to restrict access as people flocked to see him.

In July 1997, a five-member Jordanian military tribunal found Daqamseh guilty of opening fire on a group of Israeli schoolchildren and killing seven of them before soldiers seized him and rushed to help the victims.

Daqamseh became a hero to many Jordanians and was embraced as a figurehead by a strong opposition movement led by Islamists and nationalists vehemently opposed to the country’s peace treaty with Israel.

During the trial, Daqamseh said the girls had mocked him while he was performing Muslim prayers in a border area returned to Jordanian sovereignty under the 1994 peace treaty.

He would have faced the death penalty but the tribunal ruled he was mentally unstable and sentenced him to life imprisonment, which is equivalent to 20 years under Jordanian law.

A few days after the incident, the late King Hussein personally apologized for the incident, traveling to Israel to visit and pay his respects to the girls’ families.

Many lawmakers welcomed his release. Neither the Jordanian nor the Israeli government made any comment.

“The release of this hero has cheered us. Israel has committed crimes against many Jordanians that were never accounted for,” Saleh Armouti, a leading parliamentarian, said.

One Israeli survivor, Keren Mizrahi, said Daqamseh’s release revived painful memories and he had served a light sentence.

“My feeling is that it’s like I’m being wounded again, mentally and physically, as if a knife is turned inside my heart,” she was quoted as saying on Israeli Channel 10 TV.

A defiant Daqamseh told Al Jazeera he did not recognize Israel, saying Arabs could not have normal ties with what he termed “the Zionist entity”.

Jordan’s biggest political opposition group, the Islamic Action Front, which is the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, hailed his release.

Slideshow (5 Images)

“We congratulate Jordan and the family of the hero Ahmad al Daqmaseh his release from prison,” it said in a statement.

Many lawmakers and politicians had lobbied to set him free in a kingdom where hostility toward Israel runs deep.

Many Jordanians see Israel as an occupier state which has driven them from their land. Palestinians originally from Jordan make up a large proportion of the country’s population.</s>AMMAN, March 12 (Reuters) - A Jordanian soldier who was convicted of killing seven Israeli school girls two decades ago has been released from prison after serving his sentence, family sources said on Sunday.

They said Ahmad Daqamseh was now in his family home in the village of Ibdir near the city of Irbid in northern Jordan.

In July 1997, a five-member Jordanian military tribunal found Corporal Daqamseh guilty of opening fire at a group of Israeli schoolchildren and killing seven of them before soldiers seized him and rushed to help the victims.

The incident took place on March 13 of that year during a school field trip in the border area in Jordan.

Daqamseh would have faced the death penalty but the tribunal said he was mentally unstable and was sentenced to life sentence which is equivalent to 20 years under Jordanian law.

A few days after the incident, the late King Hussein personally apologised for the incident, travelling to Israel to visit and pay his respects to the families of the slain girls.

Daqamseh became a hero to a strong opposition movement led by Islamists and nationalists who vehemently opposed the country's peace treaty with Israel in 1994.

Many lawmakers had lobbied in previous years for his release in a kingdom where many see Israel as an occupier state that drove out Palestinians from their land.

Jordanians of Palestinian origin form a large portion of the kingdom's population. (Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing by David Gregorio)</s>A Jordanian soldier who was convicted of killing seven Israeli school girls two decades ago has been released from prison after serving his sentence, family sources said on Sunday. They said Ahmad Daqamseh was now in his family home in the village of Ibdir near the city of Irbid in northern Jordan.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Jerusalem Post.</s>Ahmad Daqamseh, a Jordanian soldier who murdered seven Israeli schoolgirls and wounded six others in the infamous March 13, 1997 "Island of Peace massacre," was released from a Jordanian prison after serving 20 years. Upon his release, Daqamseh made a short sentence to the Al-Jazeera network, in which he referred to Israelis as "human garbage vomited into our midst by the world's nations." He added that this "human garbage" must be removed, "whether by burning or by burying." The Al-Jazeera netw...</s>A Jordanian soldier who shot dead seven Israeli schoolgirls in 1997 was released from prison Sunday after serving out his life sentence, sparking outrage from the families of those killed. In March 1997, Ahmad Dakamseh fired an automatic weapon at schoolgirls on a trip to the Jordan-Israel border, killing seven of them and wounding five others and a teacher.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Yahoo!.</s>JERUSALEM (JTA) — A Jordanian soldier released from prison after serving 20 years for killing seven Israeli schoolgirls called on the world to “eliminate” Israelis.

“The Israelis are the human waste of people, that the rest of the world has vomited up at our feet,” Ahmed Daqamseh told Al-Jazeera shortly after his release from a Jordanian prison on Sunday. “We must eliminate them by fire or by burial. If this is not done by our hands, the task will fall on the future generations to do.

“Do not believe the lie that is normalization with the Zionist entity. Do not believe the lie that is the two-state solution. Palestine is one land from the river to the sea, there is no state called ‘Israel.'”

Considered a hero by many in Jordan, Daqamseh was greeted in his home village of Ibdir by cheering family members, friends and supporters, including his 78-year-old mother.

Daqamseh opened fire on eighth-graders in 1997, three years after Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty, while they were on a class trip to the scenic Island of Peace post on the border between Israel and Jordan. A Jordanian court later found Daqamseh to be mentally unstable and sentenced him to life in prison rather than the death penalty. A life term in prison in Jordan is 20 years.

King Hussein of Jordan traveled to Israel to pay condolence visits to the girls’ families.</s>A Jordanian soldier who killed seven Israeli schoolgirls in a 1997 shooting rampage was released Sunday after serving 20 years in prison.

Ahmed Daqamseh had opened fire on the eighth-graders while they were on a class trip to the scenic “Island of Peace” border post, also wounding seven girls. A Jordanian court later deemed Daqamseh mentally unstable and sentenced him to life in prison, rather than imposing the death penalty.

Daqamseh arrived before dawn Sunday in his home village of Ibdir in northern Jordan. Amateur video posted online showed him being surrounded by singing and dancing men, some kissing him on the cheek.

Jordan had announced several days ago that Daqamseh would be released this week, after completing his term. In Jordan, life terms are not open-ended, and prisoners can be released after 20 years.

There was no immediate Israeli government reaction Sunday. In 2011, Israel had summoned Jordan's ambassador to express anger after the kingdom's then-justice minister called for Daqamseh's early release.

Yisrael Fatihi, whose daughter Sivan had been killed in the attack, told Israel Radio on Sunday that he had been informed by the Israeli embassy in Jordan last week that Daqamseh's release was imminent.

“It is unfortunate, but this is the situation,” Fatihi said.

After the shooting, Jordan's King Hussein — the late father of the current king, Abdullah II — had rushed to Israel and paid condolence visits to the girls' families, a gesture that touched many Israelis at the time. The girls were from the town of Beit Shemesh in central Israel.

Fatihi recalled Hussein's condolence visit, saying he and his family had been sitting on the floor in mourning at the time and that the monarch knelt down next to them. “We told him we really appreciated his visit,” Fatihi said.

The 1997 attack came three years after Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty. The two countries cooperate closely on security matters, including in the battle against Islamic extremism, but the peace treaty remains widely unpopular in Jordan where many residents have Palestinian roots.</s>AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — A Jordanian soldier who killed seven Israeli schoolgirls during a class trip to his country was released Sunday, after serving 20 years in prison, an official said.

Ahmed Daqamseh had killed the eighth graders in a 1997 shooting rampage at the scenic “Island of Peace” border post where he was stationed. Seven other girls were wounded at the time.

The release could raise tensions between Israel and Jordan. In 2011, Israel summoned Jordan’s ambassador to express anger after the kingdom’s justice minister at the time called for Daqamseh’s release.

Amer Sartawi, a spokesman for Jordan’s Public Security Directorate, said Daqamseh was freed early Sunday.

A military court deemed him mentally unstable at the time and sentenced him to life in prison, which in Jordan typically means 25 years. Jordanian lawmakers had lobbied for his early release.

After the shooting, Jordan’s King Hussein — the late father of the current king, Abdullah II — rushed to Israel and paid condolence visits to the girls’ families, a gesture that touched many Israelis at the time.

The shooting came three years after Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty.</s>A Jordanian soldier who killed seven Israeli schoolgirls in a 1997 shooting rampage was released Sunday, after serving 20 years in prison. Ahmed Daqamseh had opened fire on the eighth graders while they were on a class trip to the scenic "Island of Peace" border post, also wounding seven girls.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Brandon Sun.</s>Ahmed Daqamseh, a Jordanian soldier who shot 7 Israeli 8th grade school girls in 1997 at a border crossing was released from prison Sunday.

Jordan found the Daqamseh mentally unstable and sentenced to him to life in prison instead of giving him the death penalty, despite his anti-Israel statement. “Don’t believe the lie of normalization with the Zionist entity. Don’t believe the lie of the two-state solution; Palestine united is from the ocean to the river … there is no state called ‘Israel,” he told Jordanian media in an interview after his release.

Some Jordanians interviewed by the Washington Post said they thought Daqamseh was unjustly held for so long. “Israelis kill Palestinians by the hundreds every month, and no one is brought to justice. Why do we punish a soldier,” a shopkeeper said.

“It is not logic. It is feeling — a sense of revenge, a kind of compensation, a way of dealing with Israelis the same way they deal with Palestinians — killing them outside the law without being punished,” another Palestinian activist said.

Israel’s government summoned the Jordanian Ambassador in 2011 after the King’s justice department considered letting Daqamseh released earlier than 20 years. Jordan’s justice system stipulates that prisoners sentenced to life can be released after a period of 20 years.

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Ahmad Daqamseh, the Jordanian soldier who shot seven Israeli schoolchildren on March 13, 1997, is released from prison in Jordan.