Israeli Spy Jonathan Pollard Freed From U.S. Prison

Convicted spy Jonathan Pollard has been released from prison, a U.S. government agency and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday, culminating an extraordinary espionage case that occasionally complicated American-Israeli relations over nearly 30 years.

"The people of Israel welcome the release of Jonathan A. Pollard," Netanyahu said in a statement. "As someone who raised Jonathan's case for years with successive American presidents, I had long hoped this day would come," he said.

Attorneys for Pollard did not immediately respond to messages seeking confirmation of the 61-year-old's newfound freedom but Bureau of Prisons spokesman Ed Ross told CBS News: "As of this morning, Jonathan Pollard is no longer in BOP custody."

Pollard will remain in the U.S. for five years, CBS News' Paula Reid reports. His lawyers have asked the government to lift restrictions but they have not waived the requirement.

Pollard's release from a federal prison in Butner, North Carolina came nearly 30 years to the day after his arrest for providing large amounts of classified U.S. government information to Israel.

Ed Ross, a spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, said that "as of this morning, Jonathan Pollard is no longer in BOP custody." Officials at the Butner facility were not available to answer reporters' questions Friday.

"I have waited for this day for 30 long years, unbelievable," Anne, his ex wife, told Army Radio, a radio station in Israel. "It's an amazing moment."

Pollard had been granted parole this summer from a life sentence imposed in 1987. His lawyers have said that they have secured a job and housing for him in the New York area, without elaborating. The terms of his parole require him to remain in the United States for at least five years, though supporters - including Netanyahu and some members of Congress - are seeking permission for him to move to Israel immediately.

The saga involving Pollard for years divided public opinion in the United States and became both an irritant and a periodic bargaining chip between the United States and Israel.

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.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.