Local News

Fighter jet scrambled after false hijack alarm

A Delta Airlines plane was escorted to Ben-Gurion International Airport by an Israel Air Force fighter plane yesterday afternoon after its pilot accidentally activated an anti-hijacking warning system while entering Israeli airspace. The plane, which was carrying 105 people, was delayed in the air for 10 minutes before being permitted to land, after it was established that the alarm was false. Dani Shenar, chief of security for the Transportation Ministry, updated Minister Yisrael Katz on the incident in real time. The Transportation Ministry said it would investigate the incident in the coming days. (Zohar Blumenkrantz)

Cops nab two for speeding on coastal highway

Police caught two drivers in two separate cases of speeding on the coastal highway near Netanya Friday night. Traffic police clocked the first driver at the Poleg interchange doing 180 kilometers per hour. They determined that the driver, from the Galilee town of Reineh, was under the influence of alcohol and had 86 previous traffic violations. His license was revoked and his vehicle impounded on the spot. Later Friday night a 21-year-old Netanya resident was stopped driving his Porsche at 177 kilometers per hour. The two drivers have been summoned to a hearing in Traffic Court today. (Yuval Goren)

High Court postpones Olmert hearing to allow him medical treatment

The High Court postponed on Friday a hearing scheduled for after the Passover holiday to discuss the Rishon Tours affair, to allow former prime minister Ehud Olmert medical treatment in the United States. The court decision followed Attorney General Menachem Mazuz's refusal on Wednesday to postpone the hearing, even though Olmert was planning to undergo a series of intensive tests at a U.S. center specializing in prostate cancer. In petitioning the court, Olmert asked to instruct Mazuz to hold a single hearing addressing all the cases against him, instead of a separate hearing for each case. Olmert is due to leave for tests in the United States at the beginning of next week. (Tomer Zarchin and Haaretz Staff)

Lovers' spat ends in shooting, critical injury

A 25-year-old Lod man was shot and critically injured late Friday night by another man who walked in on him and his parter while the couple was arguing. The gun used belonged to the woman, a security guard, who was slightly injured. Police say the shooter was a friend of the couple, and that a romantic entanglement might have been behind the shooting. Police arrested several people for questioning. (Yuval Goren)