A week and a half after the big success of the Gilad Shalit release agreement, Ilan Grapel also came back home from Egypt in exchange for 25 Egyptian prisoners.
Ilan Grapel is an American-Israeli citizen who was arrested in Egypt for alleged spying for Israel. The Egyptian people understood very quickly that Grapal is innocent and the authorities in Egypt struggled to prove his guilt. They kept him in captivity anyway, in retrospect, maybe for the possibility of the release of prisoners who were convicted by the State of Israel (mostly for drug dealing).
The convicted Egyptian prisoners came to Egypt as heroes (just like the prisoners who returned to Gaza in the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange).
After he landed in Israel, Grapel said: “I was in isolation but they treated me well.” His mother said they will always be grateful to the Israeli government.” Grapel was reunited with his family in the United States.
This is the first negotiation or communication between Israel and the “New Egypt.”
Grapel lands in Israel (video from USEmbassyTelAviv on youtube.com)
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