Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu began by throwing a spanner in the works when he demanded the release of both Azzam, serving a 15-year sentence, and another Israeli spy, Jonathan Pollard, incarcerated for life in the United States, before the Israelis could sign the agreement with the Palestinians. Cairo dug in its heels, however, quickly issuing a statement denying Israeli claims that President Hosni Mubarak had promised American President Bill Clinton in a telephone conversation on Friday morning that he would release Azzam. After nearly 10 months of investigation and trial by the Supreme State Security Court, he was found guilty of spying and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Although the verdict cannot be appealed, it has already taken several months for Mubarak, the military governor of Egypt, to ratify it.
Individual releases are only for health reasons.
The Israelis must understand that this is the only way to get Azzam back. The highly-publicised Azzam Azzam saga sporadically strained relations between Egypt and Israel, unleashing vicious press and media campaigns in both countries. In April 1997, when Azzam's case was being heard by a state security court, Mubarak stated that he did not intend to interfere. The case is before the courts. In the letter, Mubarak said that such statements had put him in a tough position, implying that Israel's high-profile actions had made it more difficult to consider a possible pardon.