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Empresas y finanzas

Partner Communications Announces It Received a Lawsuit Requesting Certification as a Class Action


    Partner Communications Company Ltd. ("Partner") (Nasdaq:PTNR)
    (LSE:PCCD) (TASE:PTNR), a leading Israeli mobile communications
    operator, announced that it was served on Monday, December 17, 2007,
    with a lawsuit for which certification as a class action is sought,
    filed against Partner and two other mobile communications operators,
    in the Tel-Aviv District Court. The plaintiffs allege that cell sites
    were erected near their properties illegally, causing environmental
    damage. They seek various remedies, including the removal of all
    allegedly illegal communications devices, including the Company´s and
    the other operators´ 3G communication devices (for which relevant
    building permits have been obtained under National Zoning Plan 36),
    wireless access devices (which were deployed pursuant to a waiver from
    obtaining building permits under the Communication Law) and
    communication devices which have been "concealed" in another
    structure.

    The plaintiffs estimate the class damages against all 3 cellular
    operators together at NIS 1 billion, which amount, if awarded, is to
    be given to a fund managed by environment and communications
    specialists.

    Some of the plaintiffs´ claims have been similarly raised lately
    by several local planning and building authorities while the validity
    of the waiver for wireless access devices is pending in an appeals
    court decision.

    The Company believes it has strong legal arguments against those
    claims and intends to contest this lawsuit vigorously. At this
    preliminary stage, the Company is unable to assess the lawsuit´s
    chances of success.

    About Partner Communications

    Partner Communications Company Ltd. ("Partner") is a leading
    Israeli mobile communications operator providing GSM / GPRS / UMTS /
    HSDPA services and wire free applications under the orange(TM) brand.
    The Company provides quality service and a range of features to 2.796
    million subscribers in Israel (as of September 30, 2007). Partner´s
    ADSs are quoted on the NASDAQ Global Select Market(TM) and the London
    Stock Exchange. Its shares are also traded on the Tel Aviv Stock
    Exchange (Nasdaq:PTNR) (LSE:PCCD) (TASE:PTNR).

    Partner is a subsidiary of Hutchison Telecommunications
    International Limited ("Hutchison Telecom"), a leading global provider
    of telecommunications services. Hutchison Telecom currently offers
    mobile and fixed line telecommunications services in Hong Kong, and
    operates mobile telecommunications services in Israel, Macau,
    Thailand, Sri Lanka, Ghana, Vietnam and Indonesia. It was the first
    provider of 3G mobile services in Hong Kong and Israel and operates
    brands including "Hutch", "3" and "orange". Hutchison Telecom, a
    subsidiary of Hutchison Whampoa Limited, is a listed company with
    American Depositary Shares quoted on the New York Stock Exchange under
    the ticker "HTX" and shares listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong
    under the stock code "2332". For more information about Hutchison
    Telecom, see www.htil.com.

    For more information about Partner, see
    www.orange.co.il/investor_site/.