CAIRO: The Egyptian Embassy in London, Egyptian officials and tweets late Tuesday afternoon communicated that alleged Israeli spy, Ilan Grapel, would be transferred to Taba tonight. It would be part of a planned prisoner swap with Israel and Egypt that would see the American-Israeli duel national released after months in detention. “Egyptian security source: Grapel will be transferred by a tinted windows car & civilian license plates 2 Taba border late at night,” Egyptian twitter activist @Zenobia tweeted on Tuesday. The Egyptian Embassy in London also sent a communique on Tuesday afternoon confirming that the transfer would take place on Wednesday at noon in the resort town in the Sinai Peninsula. It is unclear wether Grapel will remain in Egyptian custody in Taba through Wednesday, or if he will immediately be transferred to Israeli officials, despite reports. An Egyptian foreign ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed Monday evening the conclusion of the swap-deal to BikyaMasr.com. This was confirmed by Israeli officials. Grapel, a New York-born alleged spy, is to be exchanged for 25 Egyptian prisoners currently in Israeli jails, including three minors. Under the terms of the deal communicated at the time, Grapel was to be returned home this coming Thursday. Initially the deal was to include as many as 70 Egyptian prisoners. Grapel was arrested in Tahrir Square in June, and was said to have been attempting to stir unrest in the country and deliver information to Israel. However, Israeli authorities have continually been denying that Grapel is a spy. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman agreed that Grapel “may be a bit strange or irresponsible, but he has no connection to any intelligence service — not in Israel, not in the US, and not on Mars.” “In response to the demands of the families of Egyptian prisoners held in Israel, the cabinet has decided that the Foreign Ministry coordinate with all the concerned security entities to take the necessary steps to return those prisoners to their homeland,” Egyptian cabinet spokesman Mohamed Hegazy said on Friday. “This includes the exchange of the accused Ilan Grapel with those prisoners and taking the necessary legal steps involved,” he added. Though Grapel was detained on espionage charges, Egyptian officials in recent weeks publicly stated that Grapel is not a spy. However, they continue to hold him indefinitely, despite calls for his release from both Tel Aviv and Washington. Egypt's al-Ahram newspaper also reported that Grapel could be released soon. According to their Wednesday report, a judicial source claimed the case would be put in front of the Supreme Court on security matters for a ruling. Earlier this month, Egyptian officials said they were looking for a prisoner swap with Israel for the young man. According to reports, Egypt had asked Israel to free 78 Egyptians held in Israeli prisons in exchange for Grapel, who has been detained and held in Cairo since June. The demands were reportedly handed to United States Defense Secretary Leon Panetta during his recent visit to Cairo. Grapel served in the IDF as a paratrooper and claimed to have been working for a legal aid project in Cairo. His presence in Cairo was monitored before his arrest, say Egyptian officials. ** Desmond Shephard contributed to this report. BM
