JERUSALEM – Israel is ratcheting up calls on Washington to release convicted spy Jonathan Pollard, in a campaign that has reopened a long-running feud with its closest and most important ally.

Israeli leaders say that after 27 years the former civilian intelligence analyst for the U.S. Navy should be freed. But the White House is standing firm, rejecting Israeli appeals based in part on claims that Pollard suffers from life-threatening ailments.

Pollard, 57, was arrested by FBI agents in Washington in 1985 after unsuccessfully seeking refuge at the Israeli Embassy in Washington. He pleaded guilty to leaking classified documents to Israel and received a life sentence. He is eligible for parole in three years.