* Ahmadinejad: We’ll never give up nuclear program Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed Monday that Iran would never give into Western pressure to give up its disputed nuclear program.

* ‘IDF ready for large-scale Gaza op’ The IDF is prepared for a number of possible responses to the continued barrage of Kassam rockets on the western Negev, including a large-scale ground operation in the Gaza Strip.

* PA official reports progress over Jerusalem in secret talks A senior PA official in Ramallah told the Jerusalem Post on Saturday that the Palestinian negotiating team headed by former PA prime minister Ahmed Qurei had been holding secret talks with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and other government officials in the past few weeks.

* Blair: Arab view of deal close to Israel’s The Arab world truly wants the Israeli-Palestinian conflict resolved urgently, and many Arab leaders back terms for a permanent accord “very close to what Israel is wanting,” Quartet peace envoy Tony Blair told The Jerusalem Post over the weekend.

* Hamas warns of new border breach Palestinians will breach the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip again if the blockade of the coastal territory continues, a senior Hamas member warned Monday, defying an Egyptian threat to “break the legs” of anyone who violates the frontier.

* Attorney-General: Let same-sex couples adopt In a landmark decision, Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz on Sunday handed down a legal opinion that homosexual couples may adopt children in Israel “in the proper circumstances and when it is in the best interest of the child.”

* Ramon: Agreement of principles, not full peace deal, likely in 2008 Vice Premier Haim Ramon on Monday appeared to scale back expectations for reaching a peace deal with the Palestinians this year, saying instead that Israel hoped the two sides would reach a declaration of principles and not necessarily a final agreement.

* Olmert’s career barely surviving Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s political career has managed, by the skin of its teeth, to survive the recent Winograd Report, which lambasted the Israeli government and the Israeli military’s handling of the second Lebanon War in 2006.

* Ritual of Dealing With Demons Undergoes a Revival This wind-swept village is bracing for an invasion of demons, thanks to a priest who believes he can defeat Satan.