EILAT, Israel, Dec. 5 -- Egypt freed an Israeli Arab convicted of spying in exchange for Israel's release of six Egyptian students on Sunday, a swap that signaled a warming of relations that had been severely strained by the four-year-old Palestinian uprising.
Israel also might release Palestinian prisoners in the future, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said.
Azzam Azzam, an Israeli Arab who was convicted of spying in 1997 and imprisoned in Egypt, boards an Israeli military airplane in the southern city of Eilat after his release.
(Yehuda Ben-itah -- AP)
|
|
Egypt released Azzam Azzam, who was sentenced in 1997 to 15 years in prison after an Egyptian court convicted him of espionage. At the time, Azzam ran a textile factory in Egypt. Israel has denied he was an agent.
The case against Azzam was based, in part, on a pair of women's undergarments soaked in invisible ink allegedly found in Azzam's suitcase. Egyptian officials accused him of giving the undergarments to an Egyptian accomplice, who they said used the invisible ink to pass to Israel information on Egyptian factories.
Israel, in turn, released six Egyptian students who had sneaked into the country in August and were arrested on suspicion they tried to kidnap Israeli soldiers and commandeer a tank.
Azzam's imprisonment has been a key point of friction between Israel and Egypt, whose ties remain cool despite their 1979 peace treaty, and the students' arrest had angered many in Egypt. But Israel's relations with the Palestinians and with Egypt have been improving since the death last month of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
The transfer took place at the Taba crossing between Israel and Egypt. After Azzam crossed into Israel in a van, he was taken to a nearby airport at the Red Sea resort of Eilat. Several hours later, he boarded a small military aircraft, smiling and waving before takeoff.
Asked whether he had expected he would win early release, he said: "I always believed, because I am an Israeli citizen. I believed, because the state of Israel takes care of its citizens." Asked how he was, he said, "Very good. Thank you, thank you."
Azzam, 42, briefly spoke from Eilat to his wife, Amal, as well as to Sharon.
Sharon told Azzam he had worked hard for his release and that "the entire country is united in happiness over your return home."
Egypt's semiofficial Middle East News Agency, quoting an unidentified political analyst, reported that Azzam was released for his "good behavior and discipline."
Sharon said in a statement Sunday that he was considering releasing an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners as part of the swap with Egypt. More than 7,000 Palestinians are being held by Israel.
The swap came several days after Egypt's foreign minister and intelligence chief met with Sharon in Jerusalem. Last week, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak praised Sharon, saying Palestinians should be able to strike a peace deal with the Israeli leader.
Egypt expects to play a major role in Israel's planned withdrawal of settlers and troops from the Gaza Strip in 2005.
The arrests of the six Egyptian university students -- and the recent shooting deaths of three Egyptian policemen by Israelis along the border -- had inflamed public sentiments in Egypt.
Israeli officials said the six crossed into Egypt after their release.
AP correspondent Salah Nasrawi in Cairo contributed to this report.
