Israel approves prisoner swap deal with Egypt

[News_Editor]

Israel approves prisoner swap deal with Egypt

2011-10-25 23:47:19 GMT+7 (ICT)

JERUSALEM (BNO NEWS) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet on Tuesday unanimously approved a prisoner exchange deal with Egypt to release a suspected Israeli spy in exchange for 25 Egyptian prisoners, the government said.

Under the terms of the new deal, 27-year-old Israeli citizen Illan Grapel is expected to return to Israel on Thursday. Netanyahu's office said in a statement that Israel has acceded the release of 25 prisoners, including three detained minors, who hold Egyptian citizenship.

The American-Israeli Grapel was arrested on charges of espionage on June 12. He was captured by Egyptian security forces in a well-known hotel in downtown Cairo with a laptop and three cell phones allegedly containing top-secret information.

According to initial investigations, Grapel is alleged to have been seeking to inflame the feelings of demonstrators during the January uprising. The suspect, an Israeli army veteran who was injured in Lebanon in 2006, was photographed several times in Tahrir Square during the popular uprising.

Meanwhile, the statement added that Israeli authorities will continue negotiating with Egypt to secure the release of Israeli citizen Ouda Tarabin, who has been imprisoned in Egypt for over 11 years.

The deal comes after Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit returned to Israel last week after spending more than five years in Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip. Israel freed hundreds of Palestinian and Israeli Arab prisoners to get Shalit back.

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