US set to free convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard: Israeli army radio
The United States is set to free convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard to save the so-called peace talks between Palestinian Authority (PA) and Tel Aviv, reports in the Israeli news media say. ● With the talks on the brink of collapse, US officials have offered to release Pollard, 59, as a carrot to Israel to break the deadlock over a scheduled release of Palestinian prisoners languishing in Israeli jails, Israeli army radio reported on Wednesday. Pollard, a former US Navy analyst, was arrested in 1985 for providing Israel thousands of classified American documents. In 1987, a US court sentenced him for life in prison. Washington has so far rejected repeated Israeli appeals for his freedom. Citing Israeli officials, the radio said the offer was made as part of a deal between Washington and Tel Aviv which would guarantee that Israel releases a fourth tranche of Palestinian prisoners to restart direct talks between the PA and the regime in Tel Aviv.