“Khatami and Assad are two extremists,” he said. “It could only have happened thanks to the truly magnetic personality of John Paul II.””We cannot forget the reality: The Syrians have to stop terrorism emanating from Lebanon and put an end to the occupation of that country. The Iranians have to halt their nuclear rearmament program, which directly threatens us,” said Shalom, who also attended the funeral.Katsav told Channel 2 television Friday that his handshakes with Assad and Khatami were a matter of politeness and had no policy implications.Katsav, who shook hands twice with Assad on Friday, said it was Assad who initiated the handshake.
On 18 December 2016, the parole board granted Katsav early release, announcing that he had expressed regret for his actions before it, even though he had failed to do so publicly. The parole board delayed his release for a week, allowing prosecutors to consider whether to appeal. On 21 December 2016, Katsav was released from prison after the State Attorney decided not to appeal the Parole Board’s decision for early release.Katsav served a total of 5 years and 15 days of his 7-year sentence. The Prisoner Rehabilitation Authority imposed parole restrictions to be followed for the remainder of his 7-year sentence.
