 |
 |
 |
|
|
Azzam embraces Sharon. (AP)
|
|
|
|
 |
| |
 |
The Israeli flag was prominently displayed by the Druse celebrants. (AP)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| By Associated Press December 6, 2004 |
|
| |
 |
| Azzam and his son are carried in a swirling sea of supporters. (AP) |
| |
Joyous relatives and friends screamed in delight and carried Azzam Azzam on their shoulders as he returned home after serving eight years in an Egyptian prison.
Azzam, sentenced to 15 years for industrial espionage, was released in exchange for six Egyptian students in a swap reflecting warming ties between the two countries.
It was well after nightfall when Azzam finally returned to his town, and nearly nine hours after he crossed the Egyptian border into Israel at the southern port of Eilat. Thousands of cheering well-wishers lined the town's streets in the hills overlooking the Sea of Galilee.
Jubilant crowds carried Azzam on their shoulders to a stage set up in the town for his return. Azzam, a father of four, told the crowd his release was the result of efforts by "the government of the hero, Arik Sharon," referring to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
"Sharon took me out of the grave and brought me back to life," Azzam said.
Israeli Health Minister Dan Naveh, who met Azzam in prison several times, also addressed the crowd.
In Cairo, Egypt, the families of three of the released Egyptian students set up street parties in the low-income neighborhood of Helwan, with veiled women dancing and chanting after the reported release.
The six Egyptian students were arrested in August for allegedly crossing the border illegally and planning to kidnap soldiers. Their families, awaiting their release Sunday, denied they had done anything illegal.
"Thank God they are freed. We are good people and our kids have no (such) activities," said Abou Deif Bakheet, father of Mostafa, a 23-year-old computer science graduate. "We suffered for 100 days every day."
Sharon told reporters that he thanked Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in a phone call "for his decision, and we spoke about strengthening ties and about widening cooperation between Egypt and Israel."
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, on a trip in Ethiopia, welcomed the release of the students, saying it was part of the "relentless efforts of the Egyptian authorities under directions from the president."
Israeli officials said the release is a sign of warming relations between Israel and Egypt. The two countries signed a peace accord in 1979, but relations have been cool. They turned frigid with the outbreak of the Palestinian uprising in 2000, when Egypt withdrew its ambassador, blaming Israel for using too much force against Palestinians.
Now Israel and Egypt have identified common interests in coordinating Israel's planned pullout from Gaza next year. Gaza borders Egypt.
The party for Azzam began almost immediately at his family's home in the northern Israeli town of Mughar. Women passed around a large tray of traditional Arab sweets and began dancing. The men pulled out chain saws and cut down a fence and trees to build the stage; the women set up the sound system. At least one relative fired a rifle into the air.
"This is a celebration for all of Israel," Azzam's brother, Fandi, said.
Azzam, 42, was a partner in the Egyptian-Israeli Tefron textile factory in Cairo when he was arrested in November 1996 before the start of a major economic conference. Prosecutors said their case was based on a pair of women's undergarments soaked in invisible ink found in Azzam's suitcase.
They accused Azzam of giving the undergarments to an Egyptian accomplice, who used the invisible ink to pass information to Israel on Egyptian factories.
Azzam, a member of the Druse religious sect, was convicted in 1997 and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor.
Israel always insisted Azzam was innocent and demanded his release.
Azzam's family said it had little advance notice of the prisoner swap, which took place at the Taba border crossing near the Israeli Red Sea resort of Eilat.
"Only this morning we found out they were going to do this trade," said Iftan Azzam, another brother.
Azzam's wife, Amal, had to be supported when she spoke to her husband on the phone after the swap. Shutting her eyes, she cried, "I can't believe it's you!"
GAVIN RABINOWITZ of the Associated Press prepared this report.
|
|
 
|
|
|
|
Click on the blue headline to read a Talkback comment and respond to it. Click on the  icon to send a private email to the talkback writer. The icon appears only if the writer has decided to be contacted. If no popup window appears, please make sure your popup blocker allows israelinsider.com.
|
|
| |
|
|
