Egypt's General Prosecutor has decided to extend the remand of jailed Israeli-American citizen Ilan Grapel by 15 days. Grapel has been accused of spying on behalf of Israel, a charge Israel has denied.

Grapel was arrested one month ago in a Cairo hotel. His remand was set to expire on Monday.

He had spoken to young Egyptians about the recent overthrow of former president Hosni Mubarak. Egyptian security officials have accused him of being a Mossad agent, and say he was speaking to locals in order to gather intelligence information. They also claimed he was planning to sneak into Libya.

Israeli officials have denied that Grapel is connected in any way to the Mossad, as have his friends and family. Friends of Grapel have described him as having a long-term interest in Arab culture. He speaks fluent Arabic and showed a strong interest in the recent uprising in Egypt.