The World - News from Jan. 26, 1989

Four Israeli journalists on a Hebrew-Arabic newspaper closed by Israel last April were convicted of membership in a Palestinian “terrorist organization” after pleading guilty in exchange for reduced sentences. The Jerusalem district court said the newspaper, Derech Hanitzoz (Path of the Spark), was financed by the radical Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The journalists were sentenced to terms of from nine to 30 months in prison. The sentences were far lighter than the 40-year prison term for espionage and contact with a foreign agent predicted by police last year.