Dual US-Israeli citizen held in Egypt released

Coming on the heels of last week’s prisoner swap, Egyptian authorities have released to Israel 27-year-old Ilan Grapel, suspected in Cairo of having spied on Israel’s behalf. Some two dozen Egyptians held in Israel were released in exchange.

The only image much of the world saw of 27-year-old Ilan Grapel over the past four months was that of a tall, slightly pale, sunglass-wearing young man standing amid a crowd of Egyptians, pursing his lips in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. The dual national American-Israeli was picked up by Egyptian authorities in June of this year on suspicion of spying for the Jewish state. He had been held there since.

Dual US-Israeli citizen held in Egypt released
US-Israeli national, Ilan Grapel, in Cairo in 2011 (photo: Ilan Grapel's facebook)

Grapel, his family and the Israeli government have repeatedly denied the accusations that he was operating on behalf of Israeli intelligence. They insist, instead, that Grapel was a tourist in Cairo during the time of the uprisings that overthrew then-President Hosni Mubarak…and was simply there making observations during a powerful moment in history.

Israel’s spy agency, Mossad, has been accused in the past of using citizens with foreign passports to work abroad on its behalf. The fact that Grapel posted his photos on facebook, which included other pictures of himself, including from his time in the IDF during the Israel-Lebanon war, didn’t help calm suspicions. Worse yet, Grapel’s arrest highlighted what many on both sides of the border perceived to be a deterioration of relations between the two countries, which have maintained what’s been called a “cold peace” for more than thirty years.

In September, a mob in central Cairo surrounded and then raided the Israeli Embassy, destroying documents inside the office and forcing the evacuation of diplomatic staff. An intervention by Egypt’s interim leader, Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi, ultimately ended the siege. The demonstrators said they were responding to a cross-border attack by Israel’s military in August that left six Egyptian police officers dead, a move Israel for which Israel apologized – but only in October.
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Grapel’s release on Thursday follows an intense period of Egyptian and Israeli negotiations, mediated by the US, which donates billions of dollars in aid to both countries and their respective militaries, the former of which is currently running the country as an interim government. In return, Egypt secured the release of more than two dozen Egyptians held in Israeli detention. Most are Bedouins from Egypt’s north, picked up in Israel for alleged drugs and weapons smuggling.

The exchange also comes on the heels of a much-larger prisoner swap earlier this month, which saw Israel secure the release of soldier Gilad Schait, held in Hamas captivity in Gaza for more than five years. The Palestinian group secured the release of more than 1,000 prisoners held in Israel. The exchange was facilitated, in part, by Egyptian mediators.

Whether or not this swap was pushed through as a sign of gratitude by Israel to Egypt for its role in the Shalit deal, or as an effort by Egypt to show Israel that it is committed to that peace – no matter how cold it may be – is still unclear. It might be that Egypt’s leaders, which frequently confront the Bedouin population in the North, wanted to placate them a bit. It might be that Israel’s leaders were hoping to distract a potential return to social demonstrations, scheduled for Saturday. Or it might be that the US wanted its citizen back and thought it time to flex some political muscle, before it becomes an (even more?) irrelevant player in the region. And of course, here in Israel, where little attention was paid to Grapel’s detention, as it was shadowed by Schalit’s, once again questions are being raised over much Israel is willing to pay to bring back its people.