Will Jonathan Pollard be allowed to immigrate to Israel as parole expires?

Jonathan Pollard’s parole expires on Friday, five years after his release, enabling him to immigrate to Israel — unless the US government renews the restrictions.

It remains unclear whether Pollard will be relieved of his parole restrictions, or hit with an extension of the rules at the last minute.

“I’d characterize the situation as one of cautious optimism,” says attorney Alan Dershowitz, who was involved in the case, according to Haaretz.

US Justice Department spokesman Marc Raimondi tells the daily, “To the best of our understanding, the restrictions are ending.”

According to the Kan public broadcaster, however, Pollard has yet to receive any official notice on his parole expiring, raising questions on whether the issue was final.

Pollard, a former civilian US Navy analyst, was given a life sentence in 1987 for passing secrets to Israel. His imprisonment was a longtime point of tension in Israeli-US relations, with Israeli and Jewish leaders petitioning their US counterparts for years in order to secure his release.

After his release in November 2015, Pollard was given a five-year probation period, during which he is not allowed to travel outside the United States. The parole terms also require him to stay in his New York home from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., to submit any computer he uses for inspection, and to wear a GPS monitoring device at all times.

The 66-year-old was granted Israeli citizenship in 1995 and says he wants to settle in the Jewish state with his family.