WORLD IN BRIEF : ISRAEL : Kin of 7 Slain Arabs to Receive $20,000

The government of Israel will pay $20,000 to each of the families of seven Palestinians killed May 20 by an Israeli impersonating a soldier, a Defense Ministry spokesman said. The spokesman stressed that Israel is not obligated to make the payments but is offering the money because of the “unique circumstances” of the killings. The gunman shot down the seven, from the occupied Gaza Strip, while they waited for work as day laborers in the town of Rishon le Zion near Tel Aviv. The killings inflamed tensions throughout the occupied lands and touched off a wave of rioting.