Washington, July 29 (RHC)-- The United States is granting parole to Jonathan Pollard after three decades of imprisonment on charges of spying for Israel. Pollard, a former U.S. Naval intelligence analyst who spied for the Tel Aviv regime, will be freed from life sentence, his lawyers announced on Tuesday.
The decision, made unanimously by the three members of the Parole Commission, was later confirmed by the U.S. Justice Department. The spy, who had tried to gain asylum at the Israeli embassy in Washington, is slated to be set free on November 21st.
The Tel Aviv regime considers Pollard an Israeli agent and has granted him citizenship. "After decades of effort, Jonathan Pollard will finally be released," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. "Throughout his time in prison, I consistently raised the issue of his release in my meetings and conversations with the leadership of successive U.S. administrations. We are looking forward to his release."
Other Israeli officials also reacted to the announcement, with Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, saying: "Thirty years of suffering will come to an end this November; not though kindness but through the law." Pollard was convicted of passing classified information to Israel and he has been jailed since 1987.
A recent poll showed that the majority of Americans oppose the provision of any special compensation to Israel for its concern over a nuclear agreement with Iran. The poll by Google Consumer Surveys found that 67.8 percent of Americans oppose any sort of compensation to Israel, while only 12.8 percent support it.
