Tel Aviv - The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) on Tuesday suspended the commanding officer of the soldier who was captured on film shooting a blindfolded, handcuffed Palestinian protester in the foot with a rubber-coated metal bullet earlier this month.

An IDF spokesman said its Northern Command Chief, Major General Gadi Eisenkot, had ordered the officer to take a 10-day leave of absence after a hearing Tuesday and pending further investigation.

Tel Aviv  - Israel is to build new houses at a settlement in the West Bank, despite growing pressure for a freeze on settlements in the occupied territories, Israeli media reported Thursday.

An initial 20 new homes would be built at Maskiyot to accommodate families evacuated from the Gaza Strip in 2005 during Israel's withdrawal from the salient. They have been living in the nearby Hemdat settlement since their evacuation, awaiting permanent residences.

Defence Minister Ehud Barak was expected to authorize the project soon, the Haaretz newspaper said.

Tel Aviv - The Israeli soldier arrested following the release of a video showing him shooting a handcuffed Palestinian protestor in the foot with a rubber-coated metal bullet has been released, Israel media reported Tuesday.

He was released after 24 hours in custody, the Ynet news website reported. Israeli military police arrested the soldier late Sunday.

The incident happened some two weeks ago in the Palestinian village of Nil'in, north-west of Jerusalem. A 14-year-old resident of the village filmed the incident and an Israeli human rights group, B'Tselem, published the video clip on Sunday, demanding the soldier be brought to justice.

Tel Aviv  - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown followed his surprise stop Saturday in Iraq by flying on to Tel Aviv, where he arrived Saturday evening for a two-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

On a trip to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the modern state of Israel, Brown is scheduled to meet Sunday with Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Later Sunday, Brown is slated to meet in Bethlehem on the West Bank with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

Tel Aviv - Israeli police have arrested six residents of East Jerusalem suspected of trying to form an al-Qaeda cell, one of whom had proposed attacking the helicopter of US President George W Bus

Tel Aviv, July 14 : A rare 2,500-year-old marble discus that was meant to protect ancient ships from the evil eye was found by a lifeguard while diving in the antiquities site of Yavne-Yam, next to Palmahim beach, Israel.

David Shalom, the lifeguard who discovered the ancient discus, turned it over to the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The white discus, which dates to the 5th-4th century BCE, is flat on one side and convex on the other, and measures 20 centimeters in diameter.

In the middle of the discus are a perforation and the remains of two circles that are painted around the center of it.

This object has been identified as representing the pupil of an eye that adorned the bow of an ancient warship or cargo ship.