SECURITY/DEFENSE:

*Monday, day 34 of the virtual Gaza ceasefire.

*Today is Gilad Shalit�s 758th day in Hamas captivity.

*Two firebombs were hurled at IDF soldiers operating in Shechem during the night. No injuries were reported. Soldiers apprehended 18 suspected terrorists in the operation.

POLITICS, DOMESTIC & MORE:

*IDF is investigating an incident captured on a video film of a soldier firing a rubber bullet at a demonstrator in custody during a Na�alin anti security fence protest. The film shows an officer of the rank of lt.-colonel looking on as a soldier fires at the prisoner, whose hands are tied, at close range, with rubber bullets. The prisoner was not seriously injured.

*The cabinet on Sunday did not reach a decision regarding the Shochat Commission and calls for increased university tuition. Students continued protesting on Sunday, warning a decision to increase tuition for universities will lead to another strike.

*Day 50 of handicapped strike. On Sunday, dozens of disabled Israeli blocked an entrance to the capital as their protest for increased state aid continues.

*Israeli firefighters on Sunday night extinguished in bringing a major blaze under control in Bituniya, in the Ramallah district. According to PA officials, the fire erupted in a pharmaceutical factory.

*PM Olmert met on Sunday with visiting British PM Brown. Discussions included efforts to obtain Gilad Shalit�s release and the growing Iranian threat.

*British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Monday will address the Knesset. Following a round of talks with Israeli and PA officials on Sunday, he stated an agreement is in reach, in the near future.

*In a joint press conference with British PM Brown, PM Olmert on Sunday stated �we have some significant disagreements but I believe we can overcome them and an agreement can be reached in the allotted timeframe,� referring to calls for an agreement between Israel and the PA by the end of 2008.

*US Chief of Joint Staff Admiral Michael Mullen on Sunday reiterated his concerns over an American or Israeli attack against Iran, which he stated would destabilize the Mideast region.

*The IDF soldier who fired at a bound prisoner, aiming at his feet with a rubber bullet, was arrested based on film footage presented by the B�tselem human rights organization.

*A bulldozer smashed into a GMC van on Malchei Yisrael Street in Yerushalayim�s Geula neighborhood on Sunday. While some panicked for a moment, the passersby quickly realized it was a vehicular accident, not another terror attack.

*A new branch of Yad Sarah opened in Petach Tikvah�s Beilinson Hospital, hoping to serve patients leaving the medical facility who require equipment to ambulate and other devices. It is the organization�s 11th branch located within a hospital.

*Golan Heights: A fire erupted in a home in Moshav Keshet in the middle of the night. A 7-year-old boy died and his 11-year-old sister is in serious condition. She was transported to a hospital by helicopter.

*Democratic presidential hopeful Barak Obama is scheduled to arrive in Israel on Tuesday as he continues his regional tour.

(Yechiel Spira � YWN Israel)