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Hezbollah claims to hold drill

Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shi’ite militia, said its fighters held an exercise over the weekend in the south of the country, which has been controlled by United Nations peacekeepers and Lebanese troops since last year’s war with Israel.

The exercise was apparently meant to discourage Israel from attacking again. The U.N. and Lebanese forces denied that the drill was held. — jta

Soccer hecklers boo Rabin

Scores of soccer fans booed when asked to observe a moment of silence Nov. 4 marking the 12th anniversary of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination.

Beitar Jerusalem fans were heard singing songs in praise of Yigal Amir, the Jewish ultranationalist who gunned the Israeli prime minister down at a Tel Aviv peace rally.

Reports of the heckling reached Ehud Olmert, who prefaced a speech at a business conference Nov. 5 with condemnation for the rowdy Beitar fans.

“I would like to state in the clearest, angriest terms that this behavior — not of a small group, as some would like to minimize it, but of a large, loud, influential and rowdy group — was wicked and unconscionable,” said Olmert, who has supported Beitar for decades. — jta

Assassin’s son circumcised in jail

Yigal Amir celebrated the birth of his son, with a circumcision ceremony inside his heavily guarded prison Nov. 4.

Amir was sentenced to life in prison and has been held in isolation since. But during the past year, he has been permitted to have conjugal visits with his wife, Larissa Trimbobler, whom he married while in prison.

Israeli media said the boy was named Yinon Elia Shalom Amir. — ap

Peres to address Turkey parliament

Israeli President Shimon Peres will address Turkey’s parliament next week — the first time an Israeli president will speak before the legislature of a Muslim country.

“Turkey can play a first-tier role in the peace process,” said Peres, who will be speaking along with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Nov. 12. — ap

Birthrate up for Jews, down for Muslims

A total of 148,170 babies were born in Israel last year, according to the nation’s Central Bureau of Statistics.

Of those babies, 71 percent were born to Jews and 23 percent to Muslims, with the remaining born to Christian, Druze, and unaffiliated mothers.

The average fertility rate among Jewish women rose from 2.7 children in 2005 to 2.8 in 2006. Muslim women’s fertility has declined to four children, compared to 4.7 in 2000.

The highest birthrates are in haredi towns such as Kiryat Sefer and Beitar Illit, with an average of eight children per woman. — jps

New runway opens at Ben Gurion

A new, nearly two-mile-long runway was unveiled at Ben Gurion Airport last week.

Officials said it would accommodate the new Airbus A380, the world’s biggest passenger plane. The renovations also aim to address chronic safety problems caused by the limited view to the control tower. — jta