Report: Netanyahu asking US to release Pollard to Israel
- 8 years ago
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked the United States to allow convicted spy Jonathan Pollard to return immediately to Israel upon his upcoming release from a federal prison, Israeli media outlets repoted on Thursday.
Education Minister Naftali Bennett praised Pollard as a hero Thursday, even as Netanyahu instructed officials to keep quiet over the sensitive issue of the release.
Pollard's supporters, including many Israeli citizens, long maintained he provided information critical to Israel's security interests at a time when the country was under threat from its Middle East neighbors.
Although the decision from the US Parole Commission nearly coincided with a fierce disagreement between the US and the Israeli governments over a nuclear deal with Iran, officials from both countries denied the release was tied to that agreement, or was intended as a concession to Israel.
Eytan Gilboa, an expert on US-Israel relations at Israel's Bar Ilan University, said that the quiet response in Jerusalem over Pollard's upcoming release was intentional.
Education Minister Naftali Bennett praised Pollard as a hero Thursday, even as Netanyahu instructed officials to keep quiet over the sensitive issue of the release.
Pollard's supporters, including many Israeli citizens, long maintained he provided information critical to Israel's security interests at a time when the country was under threat from its Middle East neighbors.
Although the decision from the US Parole Commission nearly coincided with a fierce disagreement between the US and the Israeli governments over a nuclear deal with Iran, officials from both countries denied the release was tied to that agreement, or was intended as a concession to Israel.
Eytan Gilboa, an expert on US-Israel relations at Israel's Bar Ilan University, said that the quiet response in Jerusalem over Pollard's upcoming release was intentional.