Subscribe to Print Edition | Thu., July 17, 2008 Tamuz 14, 5768 | | Israel Time: 03:17 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Car Rental Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

News in Brief Attorney General Menachem Mazuz has recently come out against surrogate pregnancies for same-sex couples. A new law will permit and regulate surrogate pregnancies for heterosexual couples only, a Justice Ministry official said in a letter to public activists on behalf of Mazuz. The letter was written in response to a request by public activists to regulate surrogate pregnancies, whose popularity among same-sex couples has risen in recent years and whose legal status has not been defined. (Tomer Zarchin) A Palestinian military court yesterday sentenced two Palestinians to death by firing squad for collaborating with Israel, a court statement said. However, the men will probably not be executed, because the sentence must be authorized by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who has never taken such a step before. The court, located in the West Bank city of Jenin, ruled that Wael Said Saad and Mohammed Saad were guilty of "treason" for having "contacted the enemy." Human rights groups have sharply criticized Palestinian military courts, saying the trials are unfair. (Reuters) Advertisement The Israel Defense Forces has increased its state of alert along the border with Lebanon due to suspicions Hezbollah may try to launch an attack to avenge the killing of senior Hezbollah leader Imad Mughniyeh. However, IDF sources said the army has not received any new information about such an attack. Army officials also said celebrations planned by Hezbollah to welcome Lebanese terrorist Samir Kuntar, who is due to be released today in return for captive IDF soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, were inappropriate because they are tied to the Second Lebanon War, which led to widespread destruction in Lebanon. (Yuval Azoulay) Tremors were felt across Israel yesterday after a strong earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale struck the Greek island of Rhodes. The Athens Geodynamic Institute said the quake struck at 6:26 A.M. local time, with its epicenter 445 kilometers southeast of Athens, beneath the seabed south of Rhodes in the Aegean Sea. The quake sent residents and tourists fleeing their homes and hotels. Dodecanese prefect Yiannis Mahairides said on Antenna radio that one woman died of head injuries when she tripped and fell on a staircase in her home in a village on Rhodes. (Haaretz Staff, Agencies) An army-issued M16 rifle was stolen from an Israel Defense Forces soldier last night in south Tel Aviv. The soldier was lightly hurt and was given medical attention. Around midnight, the soldier was walking near Tel Aviv's Haganah train station when he was hit in the head by an unidentified assailant who stole the weapon, which was fitted with a grenade launcher. The soldier called the police, who have yet to determine the motive or arrest any suspects. (Roni Singer-Heruti) Residents of the Negev town of Yeruham will petition the High Court of Justice in the coming days against the Interior Ministry's decision to allow Mayor Amram Mitzna to continue in his post for two more years, instead of holding elections in November. Mitzna was appointed mayor in November 2005 after the Yeruham regional council was disbanded amid charges of municipal incompetence. (Mijal Grinberg) President Shimon Peres declined yesterday to comment directly on the investigations against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. During a meeting with reporters to mark his first year in office, he said that since no charges have yet been brought, it would be inappropriate for him to make any statement on the matter at this stage. "The matter should be left to the legal system, even if it takes a little while longer," he said. The president's role is to uphold the separation of powers, he continued, and "therefore, the legal system should be allowed to operate without interference." (Anshel Pfeffer) The search for Nazi war criminal Aribert Heim, known as "Dr. Death," expanded to Argentina this week, following information that the notorious doctor, who experimented on prisoners at Mauthausen and other concentration camps, is hiding there. Efraim Zuroff, head of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Jerusalem, left for South America two weeks ago to mount a last-ditch effort to locate the 94-year-old Heim and bring him to trial. Heim fled an impending indictment in Germany in 1962 and hid for years in Spain before his trail was picked up again three years ago. (Anshel Pfeffer) The Education and Finance Ministries told the Secondary School Teachers Association yesterday that they would freeze the wage increases SSTA members have received in recent months, due to an impasse in negotiations on secondary school reforms. SSTA Chairman Ron Erez threatened sanctions if the payments were stopped, possibly beginning early in the coming school year. After an SSTA strike ended in December 2007, its members received a pay hike of 4.5 percent for work with small groups of students once a week. The arrangement was to last until June 2008, with its continuation thereafter contingent on implementing reforms. (Or Kashti) The Haifa District Court convicted a 41-year-old man of raping and imprisoning a prostitute he had invited to his house. The court heard that Raphael Yochayev, of Haifa, invited the 24-year-old Ukrainian citizen to his apartment, where he hit her on the head with an ax. Later, the court heard, he raped her and refused to let her leave. The victim tried to escape through the third-floor window, but failed. The defendant telephoned Magen David Adom and said the woman tried to commit suicide. Several days later, when she talked with the police, the man became a suspect. (Fadi Eyadat) The family of alleged underworld boss Asi Abutbul wrote a letter to lawyer Daniel Ernst, charged with handling the estate of attorney Yoram Haham, who was killed in a car bombing last month. The family claims they are entitled to money they paid Haham for representing Abutbul. According to the family, the attorney asked for $300,000, of which $180,000 has already been paid, and that without receiving that money, Abutbul would not be able to afford legal representation in the future. No arrests have been made in connection to Haham's murder, which investigators believe may be linked to his representation of alleged underworld figures. (Amir Zohar) Bookmark to del.icio.us   Hezbollah abduction How the Lebanese militia captured two IDF reservists in 2006, illustrated in pictures. Kuntar's crimes Israeli YouTube video details the 1979 terror attack perpetrated by Samir Kuntar.

Read & React PRISONER SWAP: Bodies of Goldwasser and Regev identified; funerals Thursday Responses: 359 'We want to remember our son as he was, not as a body' Responses: 103 Bradley Burston: The pleasure Hezbollah takes in torture Responses: 174 The new 'Obama advisor' problem: Senator Chuck Hagel Responses: 62 More Headlines 23:36 'We cut out newspapers to show you when you returned' 23:45 Regev and Goldwasser to receive military funerals Thursday 00:06 VIDEO: Israel posts clip on YouTube describing Kuntar's 1979 attack 23:06 Veteran Mideast journalist Eric Silver dies aged 73 02:39 Talansky cross-examination over 'cash envelopes' to begin Thursday 01:30 Israel concerned by U.S. plans to meet with Iranian envoy 15:14 Turkish FM: Israel, Syria show will for peace, to hold 4th round of indirect talks 18:27 Abbas congratulates Kuntar's family for killer's release 02:17 Former MI head under investigation for disclosing state secrets 02:56 Outside the Regev home, family and neighbors share the sorrow 00:09 The new 'Obama advisor' problem: Senator Chuck Hagel Previous Editions Select Day 16 jul 15 jul 14 jul 13 jul 11 jul 10 jul 09 jul 08 jul 07 jul 06 jul 04 jul 03 jul

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