The Central Bureau of Statistics reports a 3% increase in nationwide unemployment in September, to 236,400 people applying for state benefits.

**Beginning last week, Israel is permitting 3,000 head of cattle into Hamas ahead of the Eid al-Adha holiday.

**During a private luncheon on Sunday between IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-General Gabi Ashkenazi and Finance Committee Chairman MK R� Moshe Gafne, the IDF commander called on Gafne to support a NIS 2 billion cut in government spending to free NIS 1.5 billion for defense spending. The remainder of the cut is to cover the cost of H1N1 vaccinations.

**Petach Tikvah Mayor Yitzchak Ochaiyon was questioned by police on Sunday regarding alleged election bribery.

**Disabled IDF veterans held a stormy protest on Monday morning outside the Defense Ministry on Tel Aviv�s Kaplan Street, disrupting the flow of traffic. The protestors accuse the Defense Ministry of failing to address their needs and rights as disabled vets.

**A 48-year-old construction worker, a resident of Rishon L�Tzion, fell to his death from the 9th floor elevator shaft of a Petach Tikvah building.

(Yechiel Spira � YWN Israel)