Israeli Court Rejects Claims in Slayings

An Israeli court has rejected compensation claims by some families of about 30 Palestinians slain by a Jewish settler at a West Bank mosque in 1994. The families of 10 victims asked the Jerusalem District Court to find the Israeli government responsible for security breaches that enabled U.S.-born settler Baruch Goldstein to enter the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron with a weapon. Goldstein was beaten to death by worshipers after the shooting. Judge Shalom Berner found that although the state was responsible for some security lapses, it could not be held directly accountable for Goldstein’s behavior. The plaintiffs said they will appeal, noting that an official Israeli commission had found serious security lapses.