News in Brief

Israel will open the border crossings with the Gaza Strip this morning and permit Palestinians requiring medical treatment to enter Israel via the Erez crossing. Fuel, merchandise and humanitarian aid will be brought to Gaza via the Karni, Sufa and Kerem Shalom crossings. The crossings had been closed on Monday at Defense Minister Ehud Barak's order, following a Palestinian rocket attack. Barak yesterday discussed the crossings with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Alexandria. They discussed ways to maintain the calm between Israel and Hamas and the negotiations to release abducted soldier Gilad Shalit. (Yuval Azoulay)

The Israeli who had sailed to the Gaza Strip from Cyprus with 44 "Free Gaza" activists was released on bail yesterday and issued a 30-day restraining order. Jeff Halper, who received Palestinian citizenship from the Palestinian government in Gaza, had been detained when he returned to Israel via the Erez crossing. The boat is due to sail back to Cyprus today, with 12 Palestinian students on board. The students have been accepted by universities overseas, but Israel, which is blockading the strip, has forbidden them to leave. The activists said they did not expect Israeli forces to hinder their departure from Gaza, as they are not passing through Israel's territorial waters. (Ofri Ilani)

Lebanon has indicted Libyan leader Moamar Gaddafi, and is seeking his arrest for his alleged role in the disappearance of a Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim leader in 1978, according to Lebanese local radio. Lebanese Shiite leaders have long accused Libya of kidnapping Imam Musa al-Sadr and two of his aides during a visit to the North African country. Libya has denied such a charge on several occasions. Lebanon's public prosecutor said in August 2004 he would open the investigation after looking into new evidence. "We decided... to accuse Moamar Gaddafi... of inciting the kidnapping... of Imam Musa al-Sadr," radio stations quoted court documents. Sadr was the founder of the Shiite Amal Movement, from which Hezbollah later emerged. Sadr was born in Iran in 1928 and migrated to Lebanon. He is widely believed to have been murdered. (DPA)