Mideast Report

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak testified about last year's Israeli Arab riots.

Testifying on Tuesday before the Or Commission, which is looking into last October's riots, Barak said the government had received no warnings from intelligence officials of possible violence among Israeli Arabs in tandem with the al-Aksa intifada.

He also said the rioters were determined to strike at symbols of Israeli sovereignty, including police.

Disgruntled workers strike at Ben-Gurion

TEL AVIV (JTA) -- Workers went on strike Tuesday at Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport. The strike continued beyond the scheduled four hours after management and employees disagreed on the 8.6 percent wage hike workers sought.

Some flights that were to take off that day remained grounded, while other flights took off earlier than scheduled, before the strike began.

In other developments, National Health Institute and customs workers returned to work Tuesday morning. After a month of strikes, the workers reached an agreement during marathon negotiations.

Holy Land tourism its worst in a decade

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Tourist arrivals in Israel fell in October to their lowest monthly level since August 1991.

According to figures released Tuesday by the Central Bureau of Statistics, 69,800 visitors came to Israel in October, compared to 151,300 a year earlier, just after the start of the Palestinian uprising.

The average monthly number of tourists during the first 10 months of this year was 94,000, nearly half the monthly average of 186,000 arrivals during the first nine months of 2000, before Palestinian violence began, the statistics bureau said.

Drowned backpacker discovered in China

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- The body of an Israeli hiker was found in China. Israel Radio reported that Yishai Rosenbluh drowned two weeks ago when he attempted to cross a fast-moving river.

His body was brought to Beijing, and will be transferred back to Israel.