A convicted Israeli spy was released by Egypt on Sunday in exchange for six imprisoned Egyptian students under a prisoner swap.  

Azzam Azzam, an Israeli businessman jailed by Egypt on charges of spying for Israel, was released by Egyptian authorities, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.

In exchange for Azzam's release, Israel released six Egyptian students arrested in August and charged with conspiring to abduct and kill Israel Defense Forces soldiers, the report said.

Azzam, 41, of a Druze village, was arrested by Egypt in November 1996 on suspicion of spying for Israel.

An Egyptian state security court later sentenced him to 15 years in prison for espionage and damaging Egyptian state security.

Azzam's release is the eventual result of a series of intensive contacts that began in December 2003 when Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom initially brought up the issue with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suggested to Mubarak that Azzam be released upon serving half of his sentence.

Azzam's release is the most dramatic evidence of a recent warming trend in relations between Egypt and Israel.

Israeli-Egyptian ties are improving in the wake of a visit to Jerusalem on Wednesday by Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit and intelligence chief Omar Suleiman.

(Xinhua News Agency December 6, 2004)