The World - News from Sept. 19, 1988

An American-born soldier in the Israeli army was jailed for 14 days for pursuing a private peace initiative while on reserve duty in the occupied West Bank. Hillel Bardin, 53, was arrested and court-martialed after admitting he met with four Palestinian leaders to try to persuade them to hold peaceful protests, an army spokesman said. The Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot reported that, in return for assurances of peaceful protests from the Palestinians, Bardin said he would try to get his commanders to agree that soldiers would not take action against the protests. Bardin’s wife, Anita, said her husband had told an officer of his plan and received a go-ahead.