WASHINGTON (AP) — Convicted spy Jonathan Pollard has been released from a U.S. prison, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday, culminating an extraordinary espionage case that strained American-Israeli relations for 30 years and surfaced as a periodic bargaining chip between two allies. 
 
 The Butner Federal Correctional Complex is shown in this Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015 aerial photo in Butner, N.C. Jonathan Pollard, the Navy intelligence analyst whose 1985 arrest for selling secrets to... (Associated Press) 
 
 Guards stand outside the entrance to the Federal Correctional Institution in Butner, N.C., Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015. Jonathan Pollard is set to be paroled from the federal prison on Friday, 30 years after... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this May 15, 1998 file photo, Jonathan Pollard speaks during an interview in a conference room at the Federal Correction Institution in Butner, N.C. Pollard is set to be paroled from a federal... (Associated Press) 
 
 "The people of Israel welcome the release of Jonathan A. Pollard," Netanyahu said in a statement. "As someone who raised Jonathan's case for years with successive American presidents, I had long hoped this day would come," he said. 
 
 Pollard's release from a federal prison in Butner, North Carolina came nearly 30 years to the day after his arrest for providing large amounts of classified U.S. government information to Israel. 
 
 Neither the U.S. Justice Department nor attorneys for Pollard immediately responded to messages seeking confirmation of the 61-year-old's newfound freedom. 
 
 Pollard had been granted parole this summer from a life sentence imposed in 1987. His lawyers have said that they have secured a job and housing for him in the New York area, without elaborating. The terms of his parole require him to remain in the United States for at least five years, though supporters — including Netanyahu and some members of Congress — are seeking permission for him to move to Israel immediately. 
 
 The saga involving Pollard for years divided public opinion in the United States and became both an irritant and a periodic bargaining chip between the United States and Israel. 
 
 His release caps one of the most high-profile spy sagas in modern American history, a case that over the years sharply divided public opinion and became a diplomatic sticking point. Supporters have long maintained that he was punished excessively for actions taken on behalf of an American ally while critics, including government officials, derided him as a traitor who sold out his country. 
 
 "I don't think there's any doubt that the crime merited a life sentence, given the amount of damage that Mr. Pollard did to the United States government," said Joseph diGenova, who prosecuted the case as U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C. "I would have been perfectly pleased if he had spent the rest of his life in jail." 
 
 Seymour Reich, a former president of B'nai Brith International who visited Pollard twice in prison, said that while he believed Pollard broke the law and deserved to be punished, his sentence was overly harsh. Like other supporters, he believes Pollard was "double-crossed" into thinking he'd be afforded leniency in exchange for a guilty plea. 
 
 "I hope that he settles down and lives the remaining years as best as he can," Reich said. 
 
 Pollard, a former Navy intelligence analyst, was arrested on Nov. 21, 1985, after trying unsuccessfully to gain asylum at the Israeli Embassy in Washington. He had earlier drawn the suspicion of a supervisor for handling large amounts of classified materials unrelated to his official duties. 
 
 U.S. officials have said Pollard, over a series of months and for a salary, provided intelligence summaries and huge quantities of classified documents on the capabilities and programs of Israel's enemies. He pleaded guilty in 1986 to conspiracy to commit espionage and was given a life sentence a year later. 
 
 Though he has said his guilty plea was coerced, he has also expressed regret, telling The Associated Press in a 1998 interview that he did not consider himself a hero. 
 
 good that came as a result of my actions," he said at the time. "I tried to serve two countries at the same time. That does not work." 
 
 Under sentencing rules in place at the time of his crime, he became presumptively eligible for parole in November — 30 years after his arrest. The Justice Department agreed not to oppose parole at a July hearing that took into account his behavior in prison and likelihood to commit future crimes. 
 
 The parole decision was applauded in Israel, which after initially claiming that he was part of a rogue operation, acknowledged him in the 1990s as an agent and granted him citizenship. Israelis have long campaigned for his freedom, and Netanyahu said last summer that he had consistently raised the issue of his release with American officials. 
 
 Pollard's lawyers also have sought permission for him to travel immediately to Israel, and two Democratic members of Congress — Eliot Engel and Jerrold Nadler, both of New York — have called on the Justice Department to grant the request so that Pollard can live with his family and "resume his life there." The congressmen say Pollard accepts that such a move may bar him from ever re-entering the United States. 
 
 The White House has said that it has no intention of altering the conditions of Pollard's parole, and even friends and supporters say they don't know exactly what's next for him. 
 
 President Barack Obama's deputy national security adviser reiterated that stance on Friday, telling reporters traveling with Obama to Malaysia that "this is something that Prime Minister Netanyahu has regularly raised" in discussions with the United States. 
 
 "Obviously, the one thing at issue is the requirement that he remains in the United States," Rhodes said. "But again, the president does not have any plans to alter the terms of his parole." 
 
 Last year, the U.S. dangled the prospect of freeing Pollard early as part of a package of incentives to keep Israel at the negotiating table during talks with the Palestinians. But the talks fell apart, and Pollard remained in prison. 
 
 More details about his plans were expected to emerge after his release. 
 
 "It's a very unusual situation ... I've been working with Mr. Pollard for 20 years, and even I don't know where he is going or what he will be doing," said Farley Weiss, an Orthodox rabbi who has been lobbying on Pollard's behalf for two decades. 
 
 __ 
 
 Associated Press writers Ian Deitch in Jerusalem and David B. Caruso in New York contributed to this report. ||||| WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly 30 years to the day after his arrest for turning over classified information to Israel, convicted spy Jonathan Pollard is to be released from federal prison in the culmination of an extraordinary espionage case that divided public opinion and became both an irritant and a periodic bargaining chip between two allies. 
 
 The Butner Federal Correctional Complex is shown in this Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015 aerial photo in Butner, N.C. Jonathan Pollard, the Navy intelligence analyst whose 1985 arrest for selling secrets to... (Associated Press) 
 
 Guards stand outside the entrance to the Federal Correctional Institution in Butner, N.C., Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015. Jonathan Pollard is set to be paroled from the federal prison on Friday, 30 years after... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this May 15, 1998 file photo, Jonathan Pollard speaks during an interview in a conference room at the Federal Correction Institution in Butner, N.C. Pollard is set to be paroled from a federal... (Associated Press) 
 
 Pollard, 61, is scheduled to be freed Friday from the medium-security prison at Butner, North Carolina, after being granted parole this summer from a life sentence imposed in 1987. 
 
 His lawyers have said that they have secured a job and housing for him in the New York area, without elaborating. The terms of his parole require him to remain in the United States for at least five years. 
 
 His release caps one of the most high-profile spy sagas in modern American history, a case that over the years became a diplomatic sticking point between the United States and Israel. Supporters say he was punished excessively for actions taken on behalf of an American ally while critics, including government officials, deride him as a traitor who sold out his country. 
 
 "I don't think there's any doubt that the crime merited a life sentence, given the amount of damage that Mr. Pollard did to the United States government," said Joseph diGenova, who prosecuted the case as U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C. "I would have been perfectly pleased if he had spent the rest of his life in jail." 
 
 Seymour Reich, a former president of B'nai Brith International who visited Pollard twice in prison, said that while he believed Pollard broke the law and deserved to be punished, his sentence was overly harsh. Like other supporters, he believes Pollard was "double-crossed" into thinking he'd be afforded leniency in exchange for a guilty plea. 
 
 "I hope that he settles down and lives the remaining years as best as he can," Reich said. 
 
 Pollard, a former Navy intelligence analyst, was arrested on Nov. 21, 1985, after trying unsuccessfully to gain asylum at the Israeli Embassy in Washington. He had earlier drawn the suspicion of a supervisor for handling large amounts of classified materials unrelated to his official duties. 
 
 U.S. officials have said Pollard, over a series of months and for a salary, provided intelligence summaries and huge quantities of classified documents on the capabilities and programs of both the U.S. and of Israel's enemies. He pleaded guilty in 1986 to conspiracy to commit espionage and was given a life sentence a year later. 
 
 Though he has said his guilty plea was coerced, he has also expressed regret, telling The Associated Press in a 1998 prison interview that he did not consider himself a hero and was not in it for the money. 
 
 "There is nothing good that came as a result of my actions," he said at the time. "I tried to serve two countries at the same time. That does not work." 
 
 Under sentencing rules in place at the time of his crime, he became presumptively eligible for parole in November — 30 years after his arrest. The Justice Department agreed not to oppose parole at a July hearing. 
 
 The parole decision was applauded in Israel, which after initially claiming that he was part of a rogue operation, acknowledged him in the 1990s as an agent and granted him citizenship. Israelis have long campaigned for his freedom, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last summer that he had consistently raised the issue of his release with American officials. 
 
 Pollard's lawyers also have sought permission for him to travel immediately to Israel, and two Democratic members of Congress — Eliot Engel and Jerrold Nadler, both of New York — have called on the Justice Department to grant the request so that Pollard can live with his family and "resume his life there." 
 
 The White House has said that it has no intention of altering the conditions of Pollard's parole, and even friends and supporters say they don't know exactly what's next for him. 
 
 President Barack Obama's deputy national security adviser reiterated that stance on Friday, telling reporters traveling with Obama to Malaysia that "this is something that Prime Minister Netanyahu has regularly raised" in discussions with the United States. 
 
 "Obviously, the one thing at issue is the requirement that he remains in the United States," Rhodes said. "But again, the president does not have any plans to alter the terms of his parole." 
 
 Last year, the U.S. dangled the prospect of freeing Pollard early as part of a package of incentives to keep Israel at the negotiating table during talks with the Palestinians. But the talks fell apart, and Pollard remained in prison. 
 
 More details about his plans were expected to emerge after his release. 
 
 "It's a very unusual situation ... I've been working with Mr. Pollard for 20 years, and even I don't know where he is going or what he will be doing," said Farley Weiss, an Orthodox rabbi who has been lobbying on Pollard's behalf for two decades. 
 
 __ 
 
 Associated Press writer David B. Caruso in New York contributed to this report. ||||| (CNN) Convicted spy for Israel Jonathan Pollard has been granted parole and will be released from an American jail on Nov. 21, his lawyer announced Tuesday. 
 
 Pollard's release -- exactly 30 years after his arrest -- could help ease the tensions between the United States and Israel that have grown over the Iran nuclear deal, which President Barack Obama supports and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vehemently opposes. Netanyahu has long sought Pollard's release, and the prospect has surfaced many times in discussions between the U.S. and Israel. 
 
 The White House has said it won't challenge the granting of parole for Pollard but denied his release was in any way connected to the Iran deal. 
 
 JUST WATCHED Jonathan Pollard granted parole Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Jonathan Pollard granted parole 02:02 
 
 "Mr. Pollard's status was determined by the United States Parole Commission according to standard procedures, and the Parole Commission's decision was in no way linked to foreign policy considerations," said National Security spokesman Alistair Baskey. "Mr. Pollard will serve his sentence as mandated by statute for the very serious crimes he committed The President has no intention of altering the terms of Mr. Pollard's parole." 
 
 Both the Justice Department and Pollard's pro bono attorneys, Eliot Lauer and Jacques Semmelman, confirmed his release date Tuesday. 
 
 Read More
– After 30 years in prison, convicted spy Jonathan Pollard will indeed go free this year. His lawyers and officials with the Justice Department have confirmed the news, which surfaced last week, reports CNN. Pollard, a former Navy intelligence analyst who got caught passing classified information to Israeli operatives, will go free when he becomes eligible for mandatory parole on Nov. 21. US officials could have objected to the parole and kept the 60-year-old in prison on national security grounds, explains the New York Times. "Mr. Pollard is looking forward to being reunited with his beloved wife Esther," says a statement issued by his lawyers. He "would like to thank the many thousands of well-wishers in the United States, in Israel, and throughout the world, who provided grass roots support by attending rallies, sending letters, making phone calls to elected officials, and saying prayers for his welfare." US officials have denied that his release is any way linked to soothing Israel's anger over the Iran nuclear deal.