(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)

SECURITY/DEFENSE:

*IDF soldiers operating in PA-controlled Blata, in Shechem, were attacked with firebombs and gunfire on Tuesday morning. No injuries were reported.

*Qassam rockets fired at Sderot early Tuesday morning fell short and landed in Gaza. 5 rockets landed near Kibbutz Ein HaShlosha, in community farm fields close to noon. No injuries were reported.

*An Arab male was found carrying two makeshift hand grenades at the IDF Iba Checkpoint near PA-controlled Shechem on Tuesday. No injuries were reported.

*Security forces in the Greater Tel Aviv area moved to a heightened alert status late Tuesday morning after intelligence officials warned of a planned terror attack in that area.

*Israel has approved the deployment of American-trained PA police in the autonomous city of Jenin, in Shomron.

*A Qassam rocket landed near the Erez area at about 13:30 Israel time. No injuries were reported.

*An Israeli truck driver was car-jacked on Tuesday afternoon near the Arab village of Bidya, in Shomron, near Elkana. He phoned police from the home of a villager after thieves made off with his vehicle.

*Two mortar rockets were fired from Gaza at about 16:30 no injuries were reported.

*An Arab was shot and wounded in his abdomen by soldiers near Itamar in Shomron after he hurled rocks at them.

POLITICS, DOMESTIC & MORE:

*Tuesday afternoon was accompanied by a major air pollution alert as the breaking of the sharav heat-wave was accompanied by poor air quality, resulting in an alert for cardiac patients and people with respiratory conditions.

*US Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice is expected to return next week for renewed talks with Israeli and PA leaders.

*Tomorrow, Wednesday, the military will officially launch 60th anniversary events. Army soldiers and officers will visit schools around the country in an effort to highlight the connection between the IDF and civilian life in Israel.

*An IDF reserve duty captain sustained moderate injuries in a training accident in the Tzeilim base Tuesday morning. An officer of the rank of colonel is leading the investigation into the accident.

*Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit has ordered to dissolve the Efal Council due to severe fiscal hardships. The communities which are currently under the Efal Council will move to the jurisdiction of Or Yehuda, Kiryat Ono and Ramat Gan municipalities. The minister stated municipality leaders failed miserably in their handling of Efal’s affairs.

*Border police during the night (Monday-Tuesday) arrested two Arabs at the Lebanese border in possession of 32kg (70.5lbs) of heroine valued at NIS 50-60 million, with officials reporting the substance was of high quality, not yet diluted for sale. Suspects in custody are residents of the north, from the villages of Beit Jon and Rama.

*Thieves on Tuesday morning made off with NIS tens of thousands when they held up a branch of the Mercantile Discount Bank in the village of Dubireyah in the north.

*An 18-year-old female, a student at the Harel Ulpana religious high school in Kfar Saba was admitted to Meir Hospital in critical condition, apparently diagnosed with meningitis. People who may have been in contact with her are urged to contact health officials at 03-905-1202. Health officials are checking the school.

*A soldier who told military police that he escaped an attempted abduction at the intersection of Levinsky and HaHaganah Streets in Tel Aviv eventually told interrogators that he fabricated the entire matter.

*Two Bedouins were shot and wounded seriously and light as they entered an IDF shooting range in the Tzeilim Base. They were flown by IDF chopper to the trauma center of Soroka Hospital in Beersheva.

*Opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday issued a renewed call for construction in the E1 area, the area connecting Jerusalem and Maale Adumim.