Esther Pollard thanks supporters ahead of Jonathan's release
Esther Pollard thanks supporters ahead of Jonathan's releaseCredit: Arutz Sheva

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met with Jonathan Pollard's wife Esther in his office on Wednesday, to congratulate her following the announcement of his release from a US prison. 

"After 30 years, Jonathan will finally be released from prison," Netanyahu stated. ''We are waiting for his release." 

Earlier, Esther Pollard tearfully spoke with reporters. 

"With the help of G-d almighty, my husband, Jonathan Pollard, is completing this November thirty long, harsh years of incarceration in the United States," she said. "Jonathan has served his time - right down to the very last day, to the very last minute." 

"I am relieved and I'm happy that our ordeal is finally coming to an end." 

"I can hardly wait," she continued. "I am counting the days, the hours, the minutes, the seconds until I can take him into my arms." 

On Tuesday night it was announced that in accordance with the decision of the Parole Board in the United States, Pollard would be released from jail on Friday, November 20, 2015. 

However, he cannot return home to Israel just yet: US law specifies that for five years after their release, parolees have to get government permission for any travel abroad - and US President Barack Obama has no intention of allowing him to come home. 

Pollard, who was arrested on charges of spying for Israel in 1985 and later sentenced to life in prison, began his 30th year in jail this past November. At that time, the Parole Board of the Justice Department rejected Pollard's parole, with senior U.S. officials involved in the case writing to President Barack Obama to complain that the decision was "deeply flawed".

He has been suffering from poor health - particularly over the past year - and has recently become the subject of a high-profile campaign for his release.