US authorities have issued a statement about the arrest of a US Army veteran who is suspected of disclosing secret defense information.

The allegations include information given to Israel on nuclear weapons and is apparently linked to the 1980s Jonathan Pollard spy scandal.

According to the AFP, the Justice Department said that the veteran, Ben-Ami Kadish, now 84, worked as a mechanical engineer at a US Army center in New Jersey and for about 6 years he provided classified documents to Israel’s consul for science. He is also charged for illegally acting as an agent without notifying the US Attorney General’s office.

Apparently, between 1979 and 1985, Kadish borrowed close to one hundred classified documents, took them to his home and allowed the Israeli consular official CC-1 to photograph them. One of the documents containing highly classified information concerning nuclear weaponry was also reported taken.

Prosecutors were quoted by the New York Times saying that the engineer could face life in prison or possibly the death penalty if convicted on the most serious charge.

The trial is not meant to harm the privileged relations between the two countries, especially now when President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice are preparing their visit to Israel for the beginning of May. "Their wish is to facilitate an Israeli-Palestinian accord before the end of Bush's mandate and a crisis would only compromise this project," a government official said, quoted by the AFP.

Jonathan Pollard was charged in November 1985 with espionage-related offenses and is now serving a life sentence after being convicted on a charge of spying for Israel while working as a US naval officer.