Report: Israel dropped opposition to F16 sale for Grapel, Tarabin

From YNet:

The Palestinian Maan news agency reported Thursday that the United States has agreed to sell Egypt several F-16 fighter jets in order to facilitate the release of Israeli-American Ilan Grapel. Israel had opposed similar sales in the past.

Grapel, who was arrested in June on espionage charges, is slated to be released later on Thursday. Israel will release 25 Egyptian prisoners in return.

According to the Ma'an report, Israeli Bedouin Ouda Tarabin - imprisoned in Egypt for a decade - was a large factor in the Grapel negotiations.

Originally, there were reports that Israel would trade all 81 Egyptian prisoners but Isrsel told Egypt that Grapel simply was not that important to them - but Tarabin was.

Under the previous Egyptian regime, Mubarak refused to deal Tarabin, claiming that Egyptians would rise up against him if he would.

Israel had been opposed to the F-16 deal for security reasons, and as part of this deal Israel is dropping its objections. In addition, the report says that Israel will also drop its Camp David demands of a limited Egyptian army presence in the Sinai. Israel's apology to Egypt for the deaths of several Egyptian soldiers during a terror attack in August also came into play in this deal, according to the report.

What this all comes down to is that Grapel, and Tarabin, are not prisoners. They are hostages. And while the price is not as high as in the Shalit deal, Israel is rewarding Egypt for acting like a terrorist group. (I cannot say that the US is doing the same, as it appears that America wanted to sell the F-16s to Egypt for a while and it was Israeli opposition that stopped it.)

It would be the height of folly for anyone with Israeli citizenship, or even for Jews with Israeli relatives, to visit Egypt.

(Palestine Today says that the deal involves F-16s "and other weapons.")

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Egypt, Israel agree on Grapel deal

From Al Arabiya:

Egypt and Israel said Monday they have finalized arrangements to exchange an alleged Israeli spy for 25 Egyptians held in Israeli jails, on the heels of a Hamas-Israel prisoner swap.

“Egypt has agreed to release Ilan Grapel and at Egypt’s request Israel has agreed to free 25 Egyptian prisoners,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement.

According to the statement, the Egyptians lined up for release –including three minors – are not security prisoners. 

Egypt’s official MENA news agency said the swap is expected to take place “in the next two days.”

The deal is subject to the approval of Israel's 14-member security cabinet which is due to convene on Tuesday, the statement said. But it is highly unlikely to reject the agreement.

Ouda Tarabin is still not being discussed.

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Grapel may be in Egyptian prison for two more months

From Ma'an/AFP:

Egypt and Israel are adding the "final touches" to a deal to swap an Israel-American detained in Cairo for Egyptian prisoners detained in Israel, the official MENA news agency said on Saturday.

"MENA has learned that the final touches are currently being made for a deal to swap Israeli spy Ilan Grapel, accused of spying on Egypt for Israel, for about 16 Egyptian prisoners and three detained children," MENA reported.

Later Saturday, Egyptian state-owned daily Al Ahram reported that Egypt had secured agreement for 20 - 30 Egyptian prisoners be returned in exchanged for Grapel, citing a MENA report.

Al Ahram said the deal is likely to take place after a prisoner swap between Hamas and Israel concludes in two months, citing an Egyptian diplomatic source.

This is in contrast with earlier reports that the Grapel deal was imminent.

It sounds like Hamas pressured Egypt to link the Grapel deal with the Shalit deal. There is no logical relationship between the two.

And, again, no word about whether Israeli Bedouin Ouda Tarabin, who is also unjustly accused of being an Israeli spy, will be included in the deal. It would be tragic if Israel is ignoring Tarabin's plight.

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Report: Grapel deal imminent, no word on Tarabin

Israel Hayom quotes Israel Radio as confirming the Al Hayat story I noted yesterday that Ilan Grapel might be released in a swap as early as this week:

Ilan Grapel, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen arrested in Egypt in June on espionage charges, is expected to be released from Egyptian custody just days after Staff Sgt. Gilad Shalit, who has been held in Gaza for more than five years, returns home, Israeli officials confirmed on Monday, according to Israel Radio.

The confirmation follows a report in the Egyptian state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper, which said Israel has agreed to release 81 Egyptian citizens currently held in Israeli prisons in exchange for Grapel's freedom.

"All reports suggest that the Shalit deal will not be the only one concluded between Arabs and Israel in the coming days," Al-Ahram reported. The Shalit deal, the article said, will "soon be followed by another deal, between Egypt and Israel, in which the spy Ilan Grapel ... will be released in return for all Egyptians held in Israeli prisons."

Egypt has been bolstered in recent weeks, setting the stage for Grapel's release, thanks to its successful mediation in the Shalit deal, which will see 1,027 Palestinian prisoners freed from Israeli jails in exchange for the hostage Israel Defense Forces soldier. Israel also issued a formal apology for the deaths of six Egyptian soldiers who were killed during the pursuit of terrorists following a multi-pronged terror attack in southern Israel in August. According to Egyptian reports, negotiations between Israel and Egypt over Grapel's release are currently in their final stages.

Still no information about Israeli Bedouin Ouda Tarabin, also held in Egyptian prison. Likud MK Ayoob Kara has been pressing to include Tarabin in any Grapel deal.

Speaking at a special press conference with the Tarabin family, Kara said: “I am ashamed that an Israeli Bedouin citizen does not get the same treatment as the one received by Ilan Grapel.”

He added, “I’ve approached the U.S. Ambassador in Israel as well as the Prime Minister and demanded that any deal to free Grapel also include Inside Ouda Tarabin. I do not accept any excuse on this matter because once we release security prisoners held in Israel for Grapel, there will be no chance to release Ouda, because no one knows who will assume power in Egypt and there’s no guarantee he’ll released in December 2015 when he finishes serving his prison sentence.”

Suleiman Tarabin, Ouda’s father, also spoke at Monday’s press conference with Kara and said: “I call on the Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and the American government to act to release my son from the Egyptian prison.”

“I do not understand why when we go to the doctor we are treated as any Jew is treated, but when it comes to detainees in Egypt, the Bedouin do not get the same treatment received by a Jew,” added Tarabin. “The Shalit family has not slept more for more than 2,000 days, and my family and I have not slept for more than a decade. For more than ten years we have not celebrated any holidays. My son refuses to get married before his brother is released. I am pleading with anyone who has influence to do anything possible to have my son see the light of day.”

More on Tarabin here.

It is a shame that Tarabin has not been getting the coverage that Grapel has been receiving - from the right or from the left.

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Grapel prisoner swap with Egypt may include terrorists (updated)

From AFP:

Egypt is mulling its own prisoner exchange with Israel, swapping a U.S.-Israeli joint national suspected of spying for Israel for 81 Egyptians detained in the Jewish state, the state-owned daily Al-Ahram said Sunday.

Ilan Grapel, who has been in custody since June 12, has been accused of being an agent of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency and of sowing sectarian strife and chaos in Egypt during the uprising which ousted president Hosni Mubarak in February.

Israel has strongly denied the claims, insisting the whole thing was a mistake and accusing Egyptian authorities of “bizarre behavior.”

Egypt mediated between Israel and the Islamist movement Hamas to secure a deal under which more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners are to be freed in exchange for soldier Gilad Shalit, captured in 2006.

“All reports suggest that the Shalit deal will not be the only one concluded between Arabs and Israel in the coming days,” Ahram said.

It should “soon be followed by another deal, between Egypt and Israel, in which the spy Ilan Grapel... will be released in return for all Egyptians held in Israeli prisons,” the daily said.

There are 81 Egyptian prisoners, including three children, held in Israel, the majority facing criminal charges, including illegal entry to Israel, drug trafficking and arms possession.

Negotiations on an exchange are almost finished, the paper said.

“The success of the Egyptian mediation of the Shalit deal and Israel’s formal apology to Egypt for the death of Egyptian soldiers killed on the border by Israeli fire, certainly cleared the road for making the Grapel deal.”

Al Ahram published a list of the 81 prisoners that it says Israel would release. Most of their crimes are for illegally infiltrating Israel, drug charges, or weapons charges, with sentences from 3 to 15 years.

Two of them, however, may be terrorists: Atef Ahmed Hamdan Qudaih is a Palestinian who was sentenced to 20 years for attempted murder, and Mohamed Hassan Osman was sentenced to 15 years also for attempted murder. I have not been able to find out the details of these cases.

UPDATE: Sylvia in the comments notes that Egypt is holding another Israeli citizen, Ouda Tarabin, a Bedouin being held on trumped up spy charges who was arrested for visiting relatives in El Arish. It would be tragic if he is not included in any deal.

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Egypt now accuses Ilan Grapel of firebombing police stations

From JPost:

Egypt added setting fire to police stations to the list of charges faced by American-Israeli law student Ilan Grapel, who has been detained in Cairo since June on suspicion of spying for Jerusalem, state-run Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram reported on Monday.

The state reportedly accused Grapel of throwing fire bombs at police headquarters at the Egyptian Interior Ministry in the wake of Egypt's January revolution, based on witness statements. The charges are in addition to espionage.

The Al Ahram article is here.

Al Ahram, which is a state-run newspaper, has been in the forefront of accusing Grapel of being a spy. And as well all know, the best spies like to discreetly throw firebombs while freely admitting the country they came from to anyone who asks.

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Sunday links

A Jewish couple, trying to reach a Jerusalem hospital while the wife was in labor, was attacked by Arab stone throwers and "nearly lynched"on Yom Kippur.

Reports that relatives of the Fogel family murderers told Jews of Itamar "We'll Fogel you" while drawing their fingers across their throats.

A Molotov cocktail was thrown at a Jaffa synagogue.

Reports that Egypt is demanding 81 prisoners in exchange for Ilan Grapel, and that even the Egyptians admit the case against him is weak. Which means he isn't a prisoner - he is a hostage.

The Union of European Football Associations has charged Legia Warsaw after its fans unfurled a massive "Jihad" banner against Israel's Hapoel Tel Aviv.

Barry Rubin has a nice roundup of important trends.

I don't know how popular it is, but Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a nice Arabic website.

(h/t Kramerica, CHA)

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