"It should be noted that the brigade commander believes that to totally prevent damage to the petitioners' property, he must deploy a large number of soldiers in the area at any given moment."--Attorney Yuval Roitman, a senior deputy at the State Prosecutor's Office, tries to explain why the State cannot protect two elderly Palestinian farmers and their plot of land from endless attacks by Bat Ayin settlers.
- At least 166 homes in Israeli settlement built on private Palestinian land - Haaretz has obtained a certified map of the West Bank settlement of Eli, drafted by the Civil Administration, to clarify what lands could be included in zoning plan for settlement, which reveals the houses were built on Palestinian property. (Haaretz+)
- Palestinian villagers take IDF to High Court over military drills - Petitioners claim the drills are conducted in violation of High Court order; IDF spokesman: Exercises were held in firing zones, not in farmlands, and no damage was caused. (Haaretz+)
- Suspicion: Girl who spat on Tibi sprayed anti-Christian slogans - Jerusalem Police arrest two girls, Orion Nizri (20) from Jerusalem and A. (17) from the center of the country, both suspected of spray-painting 'Jesus is a son of a bitch' on wall surrounding Monastery of the Cross in capital; A., a known right-wing activist living in the W. Bank, is the one who spat on Arab MK Ahmed Tibi at Bar-Ilan University in December. (Ynet+photos+video)
- Report: Israel's middle class lives like the West's working class - Left-leaning think tank Adva Center finds that the image of suburban family with two cars is far from reality and that Israel's middle class is shrinking. (Ynet and Haaretz+)
- Iran denies explosion at underground uranium facility - Tehran calls reports of explosion at underground Fordo bunker "Western propaganda" designed to influence the upcoming nuclear negotiations. London Times: Israeli officials confirmed explosion. Ya'alon plays down Israeli involvement. (Israel Hayom)
- U.S. 'does not believe' reports about blast at Iran nuke plant - White House spokesman says 'we have no information to confirm report' about explosion at underground Fordo bunker. (Agencies, Ynet)
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