Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday said that he would prefer that Jonathan Pollard not make Aliyah to Israel now that his parole has been terminated and the restrictions against him lifted.

Speaking during the Maariv newspaper’s business summit, the former Prime Minister claimed that "this affair causes severe ongoing damage to the State of Israel, and I recommend avoiding celebrations for Pollard if he decides to come to Israel."

Olmert said that while he is happy that Pollard has freedom of movement in New York, he does not want to see him come to Israel. "Coming to Israel would intensify the damage that this affair has caused us, and that our conduct in this affair has caused us."

The Pollard affair, he asserted, "has the potential to cause enormous damage to Israel even today. Trump is leaving, but the American security forces remain and they will get back at us if we continue to exploit this affair for the purposes of Israeli politics."

"He was a spy who worked for a lot of money. He was not a Zionist volunteer who sacrificed his life, he was an American who loved Israel who worked for a lot of money. He spied on behalf of Israel, and the spying was beneficial, but the overall damage caused to Israel's interests as a result of the exposure of his involvement is something of which there has never been like in our relations with the United States," Olmert stated.

"The danger of intensifying this damage is not over," the former Prime Minister added. "If the Prime Minister, as he always does, holds a festive ceremony for Pollard, when he goes away like the American President is about to go away - those who think differently in America will settle the score with us and we will pay a very heavy price."