Alleged 'spy' in Egypt is US citizen, IDF paratrooper

[bemildred]

Ilan Grapel, the alleged Mossad agent arrested on Sunday in Egypt, is an American citizen who served in the IDF Paratrooper’s Brigade during the Second Lebanon War and interned last summer at the Israeli Supreme Court.

Grapel, originally from New York, moved to Israel after graduating from John Hopkins University in the US and enlisted in the IDF.

He was wounded during fighting against Hezbollah guerillas in the southern Lebanese town of Taibe in August, 2006. In an interview to the New York Daily News in 2006, Irene Grapel said her son decided to enlist in the IDF since he "didn't want a boring life" and craved some adventure before enrolling in graduate school.

A friend of Grapel’s told The Jerusalem Post on Monday that he had worked as an intern at the Israel Project – an Israel advocacy organization - in 2008 and had studied Arabic and even lived for short period of times with Druse communities in northern Israel. He frequently traveled throughout the Arab world.

http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=224782

[Scurrilous]

1. Egypt wants 81 prisoners in exchange for 'Israeli spy'

Cairo wants Jerusalem to release Egyptian nationals held in Israeli jails, al-Ahram report; US submits official request to free Ilan Garpel

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4132719,00.html

<snip>

"Egypt wants Israel to free 78 Egyptian prisoners in exchange for Ilan Grapel, an Israeli-American national accused of spying and held by Cairo since June.

The demand was presented during US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's visit to Cairo, according to al-Ahram, a newspaper associated with the Egyptian government. In addition, Egypt wants Israel to release three Egyptian minors currently held at the Beersheba prison.

The Egyptian paper reported that Cairo made other demands that are currently being examined by Jerusalem and Washington. If the conditions are accepted, Israel and Egypt are expected to launch direct talks aimed at closing the deal."

[bemildred]

2. This whole "bargaining chip" deal just gets out of hand after a while.

"I'll give you forty Arabs and 10 future picks for one IDF/US paratrooper tourist."

I suppose part of the problem is the Israelis are holding a lot more hostages than their enemies.

[Dick Dastardly]

5. The problem would certainly be resolved if Israel would not hold terrorists and other assorted

criminals hostage and simply released them rather than trying to hold them accountable. Many of those in the possible exchange were caught trying to infiltrate Israels border to launch terror attacks, smuggle weapons or engaged in some other crossborder criminal activity and instead of being released as any decent country would do, they are now held hostage. Obviously if Israel just released these people just as Israels enemies release the many Israelis engaged in the same crimes then the hostage count would not be so lopsided.

All sarcasm aside your statement is BS on many levels.

Such criminals in Israeli prisons are not hostages and would not be considered such if it were in any other country.

Israels "enemies" hold far more prisoners for questionable reasons and unlike Israel they have many cases that are blatantly illegitimate.

Maybe Israel holds far more people for terrorism, border infiltration and other such activities because of the constant level of such activities directed against Israel and the lack of similar criminal activity by Israelis directted at its "enemies".



In any case how about a deal like this
Lebron James, Ben Roethlisberger, Sean Hannity, forty Arabs, five Iranians(who can be used as leverage against Iran), 10 future picks.
As a bonus we will throw in naked pictures of Hillery Clinton (or Bill if prefered), Sara Palin with her favorite dildo, The Bush twins drunk and naked, Bibi and Ariel Sharon having sex Bush Sr.'s wife and much more to be named later.

All this for one IDF/US paratrooper tourist, 10 future get out of jail free passes and 10 future renditions.

[bemildred]

7. Well, I'm glad you got that off your chest.

I don't usuallly respond to obscure attempts at sarcasm, but you went to such effort that I thought I should try to respond, even though nothing reallly comes to mind.

[shaayecanaan]

6. The lives of Arabs are cheaper than the lives of Israelis or Americans...

and this is the one instance where the exchange rate works in the Arabs' favour.

[azurnoir]

3. I would have thought Panetta would have struck a deal to release

Grapel to the US he is a citizen after all

[bemildred]

4. I've seen a couple of small stories about him, but he seems to not be important. nt