Jonathan Pollard, convicted spy for Israel, released after 30 years in prison

Convicted spy Jonathan Pollard was released on parole on Friday after spending 30 years in prison.

Pollard, a former U.S. Navy intelligence officer convicted of spying for Israel, was released early Friday morning from a federal prison in Butner, North Carolina, said a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

In a statement issued on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the release of Pollard, adding that he personally "had long hoped this day would come."

"After three long and difficult decades, Jonathan has been reunited with his family," said Netanyahu, noting that he had raised Pollard's case for years with several U.S. presidents.

The U.S. Bureau of Prisons agreed to free Pollard in July this year after a parole commission determined that Pollard should be released early from his sentence based on his good behavior and that he would be unlikely to commit new crimes after release.

However, under the terms of his parole, Pollard would not be able to move to Israel for at least five years during his parole.

Local media had cited sources familiar with the situation as saying that Pollard was willing to renounce his U.S. citizenship to facilitate his move to Israel. It remained unknown whether his request would be granted by the U.S. Justice Department.

Pollard, 61, has been imprisoned since Nov. 21, 1985 when he was arrested on charges of spying for Israel as a civilian intelligence analyst in the U.S. Navy. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1987 by a U.S. court. Later in 1995, Israel granted him citizenship.

For decades, Pollard's case had been a source of friction between the U.S. and Israel, with numerous U.S. administrations considering but ultimately rejecting Israeli pleas to free him.

The decision to grant Pollard parole was regarded by some as an attempt by the U.S. government to ease the rising tension in its ties with Israel, which has strongly criticized Washington for reaching a nuclear deal with Iran after two years of intense negotiations.

But the White House had long denied the linkage between the Pollard case and the Iran nuclear deal.

In a statement issued in July, U.S. National Security Council spokesman Alistair Baskey said "absolutely zero linkage" existed between Pollard's status and foreign policy considerations. Enditem