Jerusalem, January 05: Jonathan Pollard, a former US Navy analyst, is serving a life sentence for spying on the US for Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has relayed a letter to US President Barack Obama, asking him to pardon a convicted spy whose arrest strained relations between the allies.
Jonathan Pollard, a former US Navy analyst, was sentenced to life in prison in 1987 on charges of spying on the US for Israel. He is imprisoned at a federal jail in North Carolina.
Netanyahu’s office would neither confirm nor deny the sending of the letter but said the prime minister would refer to the issue in a speech to parliament on Tuesday, Israeli daily Ha’aretz reported.
The White House however said it has received the request and is reviewing it.
“A long time has passed since the act was carried out,” read the letter. “Pollard has served his punishment.”
Netanyahu has announced he will make a public plea to Obama for Pollard’s release.
“I intend to continue acting with determination for Pollard’s release, both because of … Israel’s moral obligation to him and so that he might live with his family and restore himself to health after his prolonged incarceration,” the prime minster said in a statement last month.
Pollard’s arrest sparked a crisis in Tel Aviv and Washington relations that only ended after Israel promised to end all espionage activities on US soil.
——–Agencies