Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strives to bring former spy Jonathan Pollard to Israel before the March 2 elections, local media reported on Wednesday.
The report cites a source within the Likud party, who said the premier aims to have Pollard on Israeli soil a week before Israelis cast their ballots in the country's unprecedented third elections in the same year.
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Pollard, a US citizen who was caught spying for Israel and served 30 years in prison, was released in 2015 on parole. He is currently subject to strict terms and is not allowed to leave the US.
In August 2019, he revealed in an interview to Channel 12 News that he asked Israel's prime minister to help him receive a commute on his parole after learning his wife was stricken with cancer, so he could take better care of her.
From his cramped little apartment in Manhattan, New York, the former spy said he had urged Netanyahu to intervene on his behalf and ask US President Donald Trump to let him "go home" amid his recent familial crisis.
In response, the Prime Minister's Office released a statement, saying that "Israel remains committed to bringing Jonathan Pollard back home. The prime minister will continue with his efforts to bring him to Israel."
This article was originally published by i24NEWS
