Israel hails release of Jewish-American spy

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday hailed the release of Jewish-American spy Jonathan Pollard after 30 years of imprisonment in the US.

Pollard, 61, was released on parole from the Bunter facility in North Carolina, where he served a life sentence for espionage in the US for Israel, Xinhua news agency reported.

Pollard, a Jewish US citizen, was convicted in 1987 for passing thousands of classified military documents to Israel. At the time, he was a US naval intelligence officer.

Noting Israel's relentless efforts for his early release, Netanyahu said "as someone who raised Jonathan's case for years with successive American presidents, I had long hoped this day would come".

"After three long and difficult decades, Jonathan has been reunited with his family," he said.

Pollard received an Israeli citizenship while in jail.

Under his parole, he is not allowed to leave the US for two to five years and also not allowed to give interviews to the media.