Mideast Report

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JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel's Supreme Court has ruled that 700 Palestinians could return to caves in the hills of the southern West Bank.

The army has been ejecting the cave-dwellers for the last few months, saying they were squatting in a military zone and had housing in nearby villages. Lawyers for the cave-dwellers had argued that many of them have no other shelter besides the caves and that the army was endangering a centuries-old way of life.

Hoops fans injured in rush for tickets

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Twelve people were injured this week in a rush for basketball tickets outside the Yad Eliahu Stadium in Tel Aviv. The incident occurred when police on horseback dispersed thousands of fans stampeding the box office.

Thousands of fans had lined up overnight to get tickets to a critical match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and PAF Bologna.

Two men arrested for aiding Hamas

JERUSALEM (JTA) — An Israeli Arab has been charged with aiding a Hamas cell that planned to carry out a series of terror bombings in Israel.

Officials also have arrested a Jewish settler from the Gaza Strip on suspicion of accepting money to transport the cell members from Gaza to Israel. The settler has stated that he thought the members were illegal Palestinian workers.

An Israeli anti-terror squad killed four Hamas members and captured another member of the cell during a shootout earlier this month.