TEL AVIV (Update 2) - Ilan Grapel, a citizen of Israel and the United States who was arrested in Egypt and accused of spying for Israel, was handed over to Israeli authorities Thursday as part of a prisoner swap, Egyptian officials and state-run media said. Officials from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, said Grapel was not yet in Israel and was not expected to arrive until evening. The swap deal includes Israel giving up 25 Egyptian prisoners. They were scheduled to leave a prison in southern Israel Thursday morning and be bussed to the Israel/Egyptian border, an Israeli Prison Service spokeswoman said. Grapel, 27, was arrested June 12 on suspicion of spying. Israel denies Grapel is a spy. Nine of the 25 Egyptian prisoners were incarcerated for drug smuggling, nine others were jailed for weapons violations and one was jailed for both drug and weapons charges. The remaining prisoners were jailed for smuggling other goods, Israeli prison officials said. Egyptian officials have said that a majority of the inmates were political prisoners. Last week, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States was "hopeful" that Grapel would be released. Speaking to the media during a visit to Libya, she answered a question about reports that Grapel may be released, saying, "We see no basis for any legal action against him."
