The decision to accede to the request was made following a series of talks and contacts that Netanyahu and his representatives have held on the issue in recent months with senior U.S. administration officials  "I intend to continue acting with determination for Pollard's release, both because of the State of Israel's moral obligation to him and so that he might live with his family and restore himself to health after his prolonged incarceration," the prime minister said.  On Monday Lawrence Korb, former U.S. assistant secretary of defense in the 1980s, came to Israel's parliament, the Knesset, to urge Israel to take a more pro-active and open campaign for Pollard's release.  Korb had been working under Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger during Pollard's arrest and was privy to the internal goings-on at the Pentagon. He believes now that Pollard was treated unfairly by getting a too harsh a sentence for his crime.  "Jonathan Pollard made a deal with the prosecutors: they agreed if he cooperates, which he did, he would not get life in prison," Korb said. "He did cooperate, but he got life in prison and the question really is why?"  Korb explained that "the victim impact statement" which was given at the time by Weinberger was painted in harsh terms suggesting that the information Pollard gave the Israelis wound up in the hands of the Soviet Union. This was in the days of the Cold War.  At the time other espionage arrests had been made involving American military, CIA and FBI officials who had sold secrets to the Soviet Union. There were American agents based in the Soviet Union who had been compromised and were executed by the Russians.  Later it was concluded that the deaths of American agents was not a result of material Pollard had stolen and given to the Israelis but a result of the other arrests.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday agreed to formally request the release of convicted U.S. spy Jonathan Pollard.This comes a day after Netanyahu received a hand-delivered letter