A UNITED States (U.S.)-Israeli citizen arrested in Egypt as a suspected
spy was freed yesterday after more than four months in jail, under a
prisoner swap deal that has eased friction between the two countries.
Israel Hasson, an Israeli lawmaker who has been involved in the
negotiations, told the Associated Press from Cairo that 27-year-old Ilan
Grapel looked "fine" and was "smiling." Hasson and another Israeli
official were dispatched to Egypt to escort Grapel on the one-hour
flight to Tel Aviv.
Egypt traded the U.S.-born Grapel for 25
Egyptians, most of them smugglers, held in Israeli jails. The Egyptian
prisoners passed through a land crossing from Israel as Grapel prepared
to take off for Israel. TV footage showed some of the Egyptian men
kneeling to kiss the asphalt after crossing through a blue metal gate at
the border crossing.
Israel denied the allegations against
Grapel, as did his family and friends, and his release helped to ease
fears that relations would sour after Egypt's longtime president, Hosni
Mubarak, was ousted in February.
Hours before the release, his
father, Daniel Grapel, told the Associated Press that his son had been
held in isolation in an unknown location and that when they last spoke
two weeks ago, he seemed to be in "OK" condition and "getting fed."
"I
am happy that this thing will be done and over with and that he will be
able to resume his normal life away from Egypt," Daniel Grapel said in a
telephone interview from his home in Queens, N.Y.
His wife,
Irene, flew to Tel Aviv to meet their son, and they will remain in
Israel for at least two days to meet with Israeli and American officials
before returning to the U.S., he added.
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