Israeli Court Slaps 7-day Gag Order on Oil Spill

Israeli soldiers wearing protective suits listen to a briefing ahead of cleanup operations to remove tar from a beach after an oil spill in the Mediterranean Sea At Sharon Beach Nature Reserve, near Gaash, Israel, Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Israeli soldiers wearing protective suits listen to a briefing ahead of cleanup operations to remove tar from a beach after an oil spill in the Mediterranean Sea At Sharon Beach Nature Reserve, near Gaash, Israel, Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
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Israeli Court Slaps 7-day Gag Order on Oil Spill

Israeli soldiers wearing protective suits listen to a briefing ahead of cleanup operations to remove tar from a beach after an oil spill in the Mediterranean Sea At Sharon Beach Nature Reserve, near Gaash, Israel, Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Israeli soldiers wearing protective suits listen to a briefing ahead of cleanup operations to remove tar from a beach after an oil spill in the Mediterranean Sea At Sharon Beach Nature Reserve, near Gaash, Israel, Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

A Haifa court slapped a seven-day gag order on the investigation into the source of a huge oil leak that has polluted Israel’s entire Mediterranean coast with tar.

The ruling by the Haifa Magistrate’s Court came at the request of the Environmental Protection Ministry, which is probing the spill.

The order prohibits publishing any details that may identify suspects, vessels, relevant ports, cargo and shipping lines, according to The Times of Israel.

The Environmental Protection Ministry secured satellite images, dated February 11, of a suspicious black patch on the sea surface some 50 kilometers (31 miles) off the coast and footage showing 10 ships that were in the area around that time.

Maya Jacobs, who heads the Zalul marine protection organization, reacted to the court order by saying, “When those active in the sea and creating the dangers of spills are wealthy oil and shipping companies with influence over regulators, Zalul demands a transparent investigation and the removal of the order.”

Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel pledged that authorities would use every means possible to locate whoever was responsible for the spill and prosecute.

She announced that she had agreed with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on submitting a proposal for government approval on Monday for immediate funding for beach rehabilitation and advancement of legislation on preparedness for marine spills that should have been passed years ago.

Meanwhile, nine local authorities belonging to the Sharon Carmel Towns Association stopped cleanup work at contaminated beaches under their jurisdiction Monday, after the Finance Ministry refused to approve a program and budget submitted by the Environmental Protection Ministry.



Iran Sentences 3 to Death over Nuclear Scientist Killing

Fakhrizadeh was killed when his car was ambushed on a highway outside the capital in November 2020. (Reuters)
Fakhrizadeh was killed when his car was ambushed on a highway outside the capital in November 2020. (Reuters)
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Iran Sentences 3 to Death over Nuclear Scientist Killing

Fakhrizadeh was killed when his car was ambushed on a highway outside the capital in November 2020. (Reuters)
Fakhrizadeh was killed when his car was ambushed on a highway outside the capital in November 2020. (Reuters)

Iran has sentenced three people to death over the 2020 assassination of one of the country's top nuclear scientists, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the judiciary said on Tuesday.

"The judicial processes of these three people were carried out in the Revolutionary Court of Urmia, and they were sentenced to death in the initial stage, and the case is currently in the appeal stage," judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir told a Tehran press conference.

Fakhrizadeh was killed when his car was ambushed on a highway outside the capital in November 2020, in an attack Iran blamed on its sworn enemy Israel.

"After some investigations, three people out of eight arrested in West Azarbaijan province, were accused of committing espionage for the occupying regime of Israel," Jahangir said.

He added that the three are also "accused of transporting equipment into Iran for the assassination of martyr Fakhrizadeh under the guise of smuggling alcoholic beverages".

In December 2022, then judiciary spokesman Massoud Setayeshi said nine people had been charged with the capital offence of "corruption on earth" for their suspected collusion with Israel in the assassination.

Fakhrizadeh had been under US sanctions for his role in Iran's nuclear program when he was killed.

Iranian authorities said the attackers used a bomb and a remote-controlled machine gun.

Israel has never commented on the killing.

In 2018, the Israeli government accused Fakhrizadeh of leading Iran's efforts to develop an atomic bomb, a claim Iran has always vehemently denied.