US denies agreeing to release Pollard

President Barack Obama has not made any decisions as to whether or not to release Israeli Jonathan Pollard, convicted of spying in the US, the White House announced yesterday.

Spokesperson Jay Carney said that although no decision had been made “there are obviously a lot of things happening in that arena.”

Media reports claimed that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded the release of Pollard in exchange for the release of the fourth group of Palestinian prisoners and to extend the peace talks until the end of 2014.

Meanwhile State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said US Secretary of State John Kerry will return to the region today without giving any details about the results of his negotiations with the two parties.