Jordan Frees Soldier Who Killed 7 Israeli School Girls

JERUSALEM, Israel – The Jordanian soldier who opened fire on Israeli schoolgirls during a class trip in 1997 got a hero's welcome upon his release Sunday morning.

The attack, which took place during a school outing to the Island of Peace near the Israeli-Jordanian border, occurred three years after Israel signed a peace treaty with Jordan.

Ahmed Daqamseh, 45, who served 20 years for killing seven Israeli school children, ages 13-14, and injuring seven others, showed no remorse upon his release. Israelis are "human garbage," Daqamseh told reporters, according to The Associated Press.

"This garbage should be burned or buried," he said. "This will happen if not in our generation, then in other generations."

In a videotaped statement, he admonished Jordanians to reject "the lie of normalization with Israel" and the concept of a two-state solution.

Following the attack, the late King Hussein, father of King Abdullah II, paid condolence calls to the girls' families, a gesture many Israelis appreciated.