In Short

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israeli authorities refuted reports of a far-right plot to attack Arabs in revenge for the Mercaz HaRav massacre.

The Shin Bet security service said in statements Sunday that, contrary to a report run by Israel's Channel 1 television last week, there was no evidence that extremists associated with Mercaz HaRav hatched a revenge plot after a Palestinian gunman killed eight students at the yeshiva on March 7.

Though Mercaz HaRav's faculty openly opposes the Olmert government's policies, it also issued statements forbidding vigilantism.

Bibi Scandal Doesn't Affect Likud Standing

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Benjamin Netanyahu was hurt by a recent scandal, but his Likud Party is still Israel's most popular, a poll found.

According to a survey in Tuesday's Ma'ariv, 60.2 percent of Israelis think less of the former prime minister after a weekend television exposé revealed that he spent more than $30,000 on a luxury weeklong 2006 trip to London during the Second Lebanon War.

But the Ma'ariv poll found that, were general elections to be held today, Netanyahu's Likud would win with 30 percent of votes -- unchanged since a previous survey. The Labor Party would finish second with 19 percent, followed by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Kadima with 15 percent.

Israel Unprepared for Cruise Missile Attack

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israel's strong air defense systems may answer the threat of long-range ballistic missile strikes by Iran or Syria, but they would not defeat a low-altitude cruise missile strike, Ma'ariv reported last week.

Israeli officials are concerned about the prospect of Iran developing cruise missiles, which could be used for sneak nuclear attacks in the future. Iran is believed to have bought 12 Soviet-era cruise missiles from Ukraine several years ago and may be using them as prototypes.