Jonathan Pollard, an American jailed in the US in 1985 for spying for Israel, landed in the Jewish state on Wednesday, where he was received by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Pollard, 66, served 30 years in prison for giving away classified US documents, and had been confined by parole terms to the US since his release in 2015, despite Israeli pressure to allow him to leave.
The US Justice Department removed the terms and conditions in November.
A video distributed by the prime minister's office showed Pollard and his wife Esther walking down the stairs of a plane toward Netanyahu, who raised his hand in welcome.
Pollard then removed his mask and got down on his hands and knees to kiss the Israeli ground, with Esther following suit.
Netanyahu along with Pollard said the traditional Jewish blessings for something long-awaited happening and for prisoners being released, before handing him an Israeli identity card. "You're home," the Israeli premier told the two.
Pollard said he and Esther were "ecstatic to be home at last after 35 years, and we thank the people and the prime minister of Israel for bringing us home."
Israel has imposed its third nationwide lockdown to contain the novel coronavirus and current restrictions compel anyone entering the country to spend at least 10 days in quarantine in a government-selected hotel.
There was no immediate indication as to whether Pollard and his wife had been exempted from those restrictions.
Pollard was a US Navy intelligence analyst in the mid-1980s when he made contact with an Israeli colonel in New York and began sending US secrets to Israel in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars.
Pollard, 66, served 30 years in prison for giving away classified US documents, and had been confined by parole terms to the US since his release in 2015, despite Israeli pressure to allow him to leave.
The US Justice Department removed the terms and conditions in November.
A video distributed by the prime minister's office showed Pollard and his wife Esther walking down the stairs of a plane toward Netanyahu, who raised his hand in welcome.
Pollard then removed his mask and got down on his hands and knees to kiss the Israeli ground, with Esther following suit.
Netanyahu along with Pollard said the traditional Jewish blessings for something long-awaited happening and for prisoners being released, before handing him an Israeli identity card. "You're home," the Israeli premier told the two.
Pollard said he and Esther were "ecstatic to be home at last after 35 years, and we thank the people and the prime minister of Israel for bringing us home."
Israel has imposed its third nationwide lockdown to contain the novel coronavirus and current restrictions compel anyone entering the country to spend at least 10 days in quarantine in a government-selected hotel.
There was no immediate indication as to whether Pollard and his wife had been exempted from those restrictions.
Pollard was a US Navy intelligence analyst in the mid-1980s when he made contact with an Israeli colonel in New York and began sending US secrets to Israel in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars.
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