Israeli news has reported that PM Netanyahu requested from the Americans that they release Jonathan Pollard from prison as a gesture to the Israelis so as to jump-start the negotiations with the Palestinians. It would be "in exchange" for Israel releasing Palestinians from Israeli jails as a "goodwill" gesture to bring the Palestinians to the table.

Needless to say, once again the Americans said no to releasing Pollard, though they still expect Israel to release Palestinians while getting nothing in return.

It should be noted that Netanyahu has been the only prime minister to give the issue of Pollard's release any sense of urgency and priority, having raised the issue a number of times with the Americans.

It does not say what happened, but I would hope that when the Americans said no to releasing Pollard that Netanyahu then said no to releasing the Palestinians. Unfortunately that is probably not what happened.