(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel / 3:40AM IL)

SECURITY/DEFENSE:

*Two Grad rockets landed in southern Israel on motzei Shabbos, one in the southern Ashkelon Industrial Zone. No injuries were reported.

*IDF Homefront Command emergency preparedness drills will begin tomorrow, Sunday, April 6th, and will continue the entire week. On Tuesday, students around the country will take part in a major training exercise in their schools. Drills this week will simulate various scenarios, including attacks with nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

*Terrorists incarcerated in a Palestinian Authority facility in Shechem used weapons and hand grenades on Saturday to make an escape from the facility. No additional information is available.

*Arab shepherds on Shabbos hurled rocks and created disturbances in the Gilad Farm area of Shomron. Farm residents reported the Arabs enjoyed the support of left-wing Israelis, who also filed a complaint with Israel Police, accusing Gilad residents of provoking the skirmishes.

*An unspecified number of mortar shells were fired into southern Israel on Shabbos. No injuries were reported.

*An IDF patrol in the area of Nachal Oz north of Gaza was attacked by gunfire and an anti-tank rocket on Motzei Shabbos. No injuries were reported.

*A paratrooper officer from the Pulsar unit sustained light injuries in a shootout with terrorists on Shabbos in Kabatia, in the Jenin area. He was treated on the scene and then transported Afula’s Ha’emek Hospital.

POLITICS, DOMESTIC & MORE:

*Ramat Gan firefighters responded to a Friday night blaze caused by Shabbos candles that fell over. A wheelchair-bound woman was rescued from the burning apartment, reportedly in light condition, having suffered smoke inhalation.

*Emergency responders were dispatched to Ben-Gurion International Airport after a Boeing 777 with 241 people on board reported a malfunction in one engine. The plane was instructed to dump a significant quantity of fuel over the water, and Baruch Hashem, the pilot did make an uneventful landing.

*Tensions continue running high in the Labor Party as Amir Peretz and his successor, Ehud Barak, seem at odds over key issues. Peretz appears set to retake the party leadership from Barak.