U.S. District Judge James Moody said he intends to bring in 50 prospective jurors each day beginning Monday. About 150 people are being considered to hear the trial after submitting questionnaires the court mailed in the fall.

``I'm hoping I can get a feel for whether we can get a jury,'' Moody said during a pretrial hearing, ``or whether I'm going to grant the motion for a change of venue.''

Defense attorneys asked last week that the trial be moved, citing intensive, long-term media coverage in Tampa and the case's high profile during the 2004 Senate campaign that ended with Mel Martinez's election. The media coverage and political debate prejudiced the jury pool, attorneys argued, citing private polling to reinforce their point.

Moving the trial to a new town would trigger a wave of media coverage there, government attorneys argued in a response filed late Monday. If Moody can't seat a jury next week, a better solution might be another trial delay, providing a ``cooling off period'' from the 2004 Senate campaign. The case originally was to begin in January. Opening statements now are scheduled for June 6.

In their motions, defense attorneys singled out stories by The Tampa Tribune as inflammatory, saying the paper has waged a campaign to discredit Al-Arian. In a response, prosecutors say the Tribune stories were published too long ago to be considered a jury selection problem.

The court has received responses from all but about 15 of the 500 prospective jurors who received questionnaires in the fall, Moody said. He gave four recently received forms to attorneys in court Tuesday, describing three of them as ``pretty solid.''

Each of the four defense teams gets five minutes to question jurors. Prosecutors can spend 10 minutes per person.

Moody told the attorneys he's scouting possible alternate cities, mentioning Jacksonville and Alexandria, Va. Attorneys declined to comment on Moody's statements.

Al-Arian, Ghassan Ballut, Hatim Naji Fariz and Sameeh Hammoudeh are charged in a 53-count indictment with helping finance and organize the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a group responsible for more than 100 deaths in attacks in Israel and the occupied territories.

During the hearing, Moody also granted four prosecution motions blocking the defendants from a series of politically rooted arguments about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Moody's orders prohibit claims that Palestinian Islamic Jihad attacks are a justified response to Israel's aggression, that the group's members are lawful combatants under international law, that Palestinians have a right of return to disputed lands, or that their actions were rooted in reasonable moral or political beliefs.

However, he said the defense may offer testimony and evidence about the conflict if the government introduces statements any of the defendants have made about it. Perhaps the best-known example is a videotape in which Al-Arian is seen calling for ``death to Israel.''

Attorney William Moffitt, who represents Al-Arian, said the court has to allow him to place that statement in a historical context.

``The government is attempting to milk the First Amendment out of this case,'' Moffitt said. Al-Arian's ``intent is governed by his awareness of what is going on where he came from.''

The defendants will be able to explain their statements if prosecutors put them in evidence, Moody said.

``Until they open that door, it's an irrelevant area'' for the defense.

Reporter Michael Fechter can be reached at (813) 259-7621.