SECURITY/DEFENSE:

*Today, Wednesday, is day 134 of the virtual Gaza ceasefire.

*Today is Gilad Shalit’s 857th day in Hamas captivity.

*IDF soldiers in counter-terror operations throughout Yehuda and Shomron arrested 11 suspects on Tuesday night.

POLITICS, DOMESTIC & MORE:

*Area residents and soldiers were at odds at about 1:00am Wednesday morning in the area of Federman Farm as soldiers began closing the area with concrete slabs to prevent supporters from returning to the area.

*Mofaz supporters in Kadima want him to receive a guaranteed second place slot on the party lineup.

*Finance Minister Roni Bar-On will on Wednesday present his proposed 2009 state budget to the Knesset.

*Tzvia Greenfeld to replace Yossi Beilin in Knesset. The Meretz MK announced he is retiring from politics.

*16 Shvat (10 Feb) is the date selected for general elections.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)