News in Brief

U.S. President Barack Obama's envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, will visit Israel next week in his latest attempt to relaunch peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, yesterday submitted an interim report to Obama on the status of his administration's peacemaking efforts. A senior Obama administration official told Haaretz that there will not likely be an announcement of the renewal of peace talks. A Jerusalem also official said conditions are not yet ripe for renewal of negotiations. (Barak Ravid and Natasha Mozgovaya)

A major air defense exercise launched with Israel this week will help the United States craft its European missile shield, a U.S. commander said yesterday. Signaling the strength of their alliance, Israeli and U.S. forces launched a biannual drill on Wednesday. Known as Juniper Cobra, it includes target practice against missiles, both real and in computer-simulated exercises. The drill comes as world powers try to reach an agreement with Iran on curbing uranium enrichment. (Reuters)

The Supreme Court ruled yesterday against military regulations prohibiting Palestinian motorists from using a West Bank road, but stopped short of banning the security measure, which has drawn charges of discrimination. The Association for Civil Rights, which filed the appeal, said it hoped the court would declare the practice illegal. The government had closed the road to Palestinians to protect against shooting attacks. The decision gives the government three months to find a more proportionate method of protecting Israeli drivers on the southern West Bank road. (AP)

The German Museum of Modern Literature yesterday rejected a demand from Israel's National Library that it return the manuscript of Franz Kafka's novel "The Trial," saying it acquired the manuscript legally. The National Library claims the manuscript was illegally sold to Germany by Esther Hoffe, former assistant to Kafka's friend Max Brod, and that it is the manuscript's legal heir. The museum, however, said the manuscript was bought transparently, at a public auction, without objections. It added that as far as it knows, Brod gave the manuscript to Hoffe as a gift. (Ofer Aderet)

Police arrested four people yesterday on suspicion of stealing more than 35 tons of meat, worth millions of shekels, from a warehouse in Holon. Following the arrest, one of the suspects told Southern District police that the meat was currently located in four containers near the Israeli Arab town of Umm al-Fahm. The meat was stolen a few days ago from the warehouse, on Prof. Schorr Street. Police were subsequently informed of the incident. In light of the huge quantity of meat, police assembled a special investigative team. (Yuval Goren)