SECURITY/DEFENSE:

*Today, Monday, is day 181 of the virtual Gaza ceasefire.

*Today is Gilad Shalit’s 904th day in Hamas captivity.

*00:04: Mortar shells landed near Nachal Oz without injuries.

*IDF soldiers involved in counter-terror operations throughout Yehuda and Shomron on Sunday night arrested 17 suspects.

POLITICS, DOMESTIC & MORE:

*Public Security Minister Dichter stated the decision to postpone the Um el-Fahm flag march was apolitical, based solely on credible intelligence community warnings the event would result in widespread violence. The decision will be reevaluated again in two weeks, adding he is aware the Supreme Court ordered permitting the parade within a “reasonable period of time”.

*Meretz Party officials recorded an impressive 87% voter turnout in the primary election.

*22:36: Rocks were hurled at a passenger train passing Akko on Sunday night. A number of windows were smashed. Baruch Hashem, no injuries were reported.

*Supreme Court Justice Elyakim Rubinstein on Sunday rejected another request from the state to order the imprisonment without bail of Ze’ev Brauda, the Kiryat Arba resident released to house arrest on suspicion of wounding two Arabs by gunfire, which he fired in self-defense. The state appealed the decision of the district court, seeking to have the defendant remanded without bail.

*The Foreign Ministry approved a number of new appointments. Tzvi Ravner is the new ambassador to Poland, Yitzchak Shoham ambassador to Thailand, Aviv Shiron ambassador to Austria, Amira Arnon ambassador to Singapore, Yousef Amrani ambassador to Croatia, and Moshe Kimchi, consul general to Istanbul.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)