Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard released from American prison after 30 years

Shortly after his release, Benjamin Netanyahu said he had "longed for this day" and wished Pollard "a lot of joy, a lot of happiness and a lot of peace" as he was reunited with his family.

He was released early on Friday morning from a federal prison in North Carolina and quickly headed to New York, where he was set up for electronic monitoring as required under his parole.

He has asked to leave the US and join his wife Esther in Israel, but the US has refused to allow him to leave for five years.

"I'm sorry, I can't comment on anything today," he said as he left the courthouse in Manhattan, after being fitted for the monitoring. His lawyers also declined comment.

Pollard's lawyers on Friday lodged an appeal in a Manhattan court against his parole conditions, calling them "onerous and oppressive."

He will be required to wear an electronic bracelet so his movements can be monitored at all times, and his computers and those of his employer will be subjected to "unfettered monitoring and inspection," his lawyers said.

But he has secured a job at a New York financial firm, and is expected to begin work in the coming weeks.

Pollard who was granted Israeli citizenship while in prison, has said he wants to emigrate to Israel, where his second wife lives and where he can expect to receive substantial Israeli government back pay.

"The people of Israel welcome the release of Jonathan Pollard," said Mr Netanyahu. "After three long and difficult decades, Jonathan has been reunited with his family."

Mr Netanyahu has urged Israelis to stay low key about Pollard's release because of concerns that too warm a celebration might damage efforts to persuade the US government to let him leave for Israel sooner.

Successive American administrations had resisted Israeli calls to show the unrepentant Pollard clemency, though Washington did, at times, mull an early release as part of its efforts to revive talks on Palestinian statehood in Israel-occupied territories.

His release caps one of the most high-profile spy sagas in modern American history - a case that over the years sharply divided public opinion and became a diplomatic sticking point. Supporters have long maintained that he was punished excessively for actions taken on behalf of an American ally while critics, including government officials, derided him as a traitor who sold out his country.

"I don't think there's any doubt that the crime merited a life sentence, given the amount of damage that Mr Pollard did to the United States government," said Joseph diGenova, who prosecuted the case as US attorney in Washington, DC.

"I would have been perfectly pleased if he had spent the rest of his life in jail."

Photo Caption: Convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard, who was released from a U.S. federal prison in North Carolina overnight, leaves court in Manhattan  Photo: Reuters