JERUSALEM — A Queens man held in Egypt since June on the suspicion of being a spy will be released following a deal with Israel, officials said today.
The statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Israel will release 25 Egyptian prisoners in exchange for Ilan Grapel.
"Egypt has agreed to release Ilan Grapel and at Egypt's request Israel has agreed to free 25 Egyptian prisoners," Netanyahu's office said in a statement.
There was no immediate comment from Egypt.
The Al-Youm al-Sabeh newspaper reported that Yasser Reda – Cairo’s ambassador to Israel who has also served as an intermediary between the two countries on the issue – provided the prisoner list to Egypt’s Foreign Ministry this past weekend.
Grapel was arrested in Cairo on June 12 and has been held without charge since.
Grapel, 27, was suspected by Egyptian officials of spying for Israel during the height of Egypt's uprising earlier this year.
Israel and his relatives in the US have denied Grapel was a spy, saying he worked for a Cairo legal aid project.
Grapel is an Emory Law student who has dual US-Israeli citizenship. His interest in Egypt doesn't extend beyond his love of the Arab language and culture, according to his parents, a NY Philharmonic viola player and podiatrist who live in Hollis Hills.
Over the summer, a US consular official visited Grapel in Cairo, where at the time he had been ordered detained for at least 15 days on suspicion of spying.
Egyptian authorities accused Israel of deploying him to create mischief on the heels of President Hosni Mubarak's ouster in February, while Israel denied Grapel was an intelligence agent.
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