Shorts: Mideast

Israeli team repeats as European champs

jerusalem | Israel's Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team crushed a Spanish club to capture its second straight Euroleague title.

The reigning champs dispatched Tau Vitoria, 90-78, in front of a packed crowd at Moscow's Olympiysky Arena last week, spurring all-night celebrations in Israel and a congratulatory phone call from Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to coach Pini Gershon in which the head of state reportedly told the coach "I love you." Last year, Maccabi dismantled Italian club Skipper Bologna, 118-74, Many consider the European league just a notch below the National Basketball Association.




Pollard wants refusenik status

jerusalem (jta) | Jonathan Pollard, claiming he has been tortured in jail, is appealing to the Israeli Supreme Court to be recognized as a "Prisoner of Zion."

Such recognition would put more pressure on the Israeli government to assist him. According to Israeli media reports, Pollard's lawyer has now submitted an appeal claiming her client was tortured repeatedly while in U.S. custody. In the appeal, Pollard said he was repeatedly left naked in freezing conditions while in solitary confinement and at other times was strapped in metal chains while guards doused him with ice water.




Jericho casino may reopen

jerusalem (jta) | A casino in Jericho could reopen within days to the Israelis who once spent millions there if the Palestinian Authority collects the weapons of wanted men in that West Bank town, an Israeli official said this week.

"If the Palestinians collect the weapons, then it will be possible to reopen the casino soon," Israel Defense Forces Commander Yair Naveh said.

Naveh said Israelis would first be allowed in organized transport escorted by Palestinian security forces. Individual access might be possible later, he said.




Residency granted for Palestinian with Jewish son

jerusalem (jta) | A Palestinian whose Jewish son served in the Israeli army reportedly took up residency in Israel.

The Jerusalem Post reported this week that Adel Hussein, who had a son, Muhammad, with an Israeli Jew, had been granted permanent resident status.

Muhammad, who was raised as a Jew under the name Yossi Peretz in southern Israel, served as a combat soldier during the intifada. Estranged from Muhammad's mother, Adel Hussein fled after receiving death threats from Palestinian militias.




Israel population at 6.9 million

jerusalem (jta) | Israel's population stands at 6.9 million, according to Central Bureau of Statistics census figures published this week.

The census shows 5.5 million Israelis listed as Jews and the rest — 20 percent of the population — as Arabs. But the first category includes around 300,000 immigrants who are not Jewish under rabbinical law.




U.S. teen wins biblical quiz

jerusalem (jta) | A St. Louis teen won the annual Diaspora Bible Quiz in Israel.

Ben "Chaim" Kandel, 17, was awarded a scholarship to the Jerusalem College of Technology. Sixty-five teenagers from 35 countries participated in the event.




Syrian surveillance mission foiled

jerusalem (jta) | A suspected Syrian spy was captured on the Golan Heights, according to Israeli army officials. This was the second infiltration into the Golan from Syria in as many months.

According to the army, a Syrian equipped with binoculars and a video camera was caught by troops in a demilitarized zone near Kuneitra. He is believed to have been carrying out reconnaissance against an Israeli army base.