Israeli, Egyptian deal to free Ilan Grapel

Israel and Egypt have a reached a deal to free U.S.-Israeli citizen Ilan Grapel from Egyptian jail in exchange for 25 Egyptian prisoners in Israeli jail, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Monday, according to Haaretz.

The Israeli government will vote on the deal in a special Security Cabinet meeting Tuesday, The Associated Press reports. If approved, the swap would occur on Thursday, Egypt’s state TV reported.

Grapel has been in an Egyptian prison since June 12, the AP reports. The 27-year-old dual U.S. and Israeli citizen is a law student from Queens, N.Y., and a former paratrooper in the Israeli Army who traveled to Cairo in May to work for a nonprofit group that assists refugees, according to his family, the New York Times reports.

The official Egyptian news agency said he was arrested because he had been going to Tahrir Square “inciting sedition, spreading rumors and urging protesters toward friction with the armed forces and to commit acts of violence,” the New York Times reports.

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Grapel and his family have denied he is an Israeli spy, the AP reports.

According to Haaretz:

The Grapel prisoner swap deal marks the end of a drawn out attempt to mend Israel-Egypt ties following an August border incident which resulted in the death of 5 Egyptian policemen.

Egyptian officials brokered the recent Shalit prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas, leading to an easing of tensions between Cairo and Jerusalem, according to Haaretz.

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