(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)

SECURITY/DEFENSE:

*Kassam rockets and mortar shells were fired into the Greater Sderot area on Shabbos and motzei Shabbos. There were no reports of injuries.

POLITICS, DOMESTIC & MORE:

*Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to meet in Sharm el-Sheikh with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan’s King Abdullah II.

*Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman reportedly told Hamas leaders in Gaza that if Gilad Shalit is not released, Israel may use a “heavy hand” against the terror organization.

*Outgoing IAF Commander Major-General Eliezer Shkedy warned that in the next war, Israel can expect to be hit with thousands of rockets from Hizbullah, Syria and Hamas in Gaza.

*Jerusalem resident Mendy [ben Sheindel] Weingarten, 20, who was gravely injured in a motor vehicle accident on the Jordan Valley Road last week, appears to be pulling through. After a 12-hour surgery and the amputation of a hand, he was listed in serious/stable condition on erev Shabbos.