The bill, sponsored by Knesset House Committee chairman David Bitan (Likud), called for the state to pay Jonathan Pollard a monthly stipend and cover his medical expenses and the cost of his housing, which according to his parole conditions, must currently be in New York.

The legislation was expected to be approved Sunday by the Ministerial Committee on Legislation. However Netanyahu’s bureau chief David Sharan asked Bitan to postpone the vote, due to “diplomatic and security reasons.”

On November 20, Pollard was paroled from prison after serving 30 years of a life sentence. He is currently waiting for a ruling from a New York District Court judge about whether his parole conditions will be relaxed.

Sources close to Pollard welcomed the postponement of the bill, saying that Pollard and his wife Esther preferred to live out of the spotlight and did not want to draw attention.

“At the moment, we need to keep quiet and let the lawyers do their job the best they can,” a source close to Pollard said.

Bitan insisted the bill had been postponed and not cancelled and would be passed when the time was right.

“We have an ethical obligation to Pollard, especially after he sat in prison for 30 years while the state of Israel failed to get him out,” Bitan said. “After everything Pollard has been through and contributed to the state, it must ensure that he can live respectfully.”

http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Netanyahu-stymies-funding-Pollard-for-life-448570