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Jerusalem, 20 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) reported that during an operation in the southern Gaza Strip to clear the area its 188th Armored Brigade’s Combat Team located a shaft containing dozens of weapons used by terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, including Kalashnikov-type weapons, RPGs, and cartridges..

Israeli forces continue to operate in the southern Gaza Strip to destroy terrorist infrastructure and clear the Yellow Line area.

The ministry emphasized improving service to local authorities and strengthening cooperation between the ministry’s various units.

The ministry held a Design Thinking workshop, focused on the customer experience of local authorities. In addition, a professional panel was held, moderated by Shira Goldberg, Acting Senior Director of Strategy, with senior managers in the ministry, Anat Hannah Lanksner, Director of the Local Government Administration, Nadav Lachman Lazar, Director of the Economic Development Administration, Dror Soroka, Haifa District Commissioner and Acting Northern District Commissioner, and Yehuda Zemeret, Legal Advisor to the Ministry of Interior. The panel dealt with the topic of turning work plans into reality. Following this, a personal, down-to-earth interview was held with the Director General of the Ministry, Israel Ozana, moderated by Tami Nassa, Commissioner for Judea and Samaria.

The Director General of the Ministry of Interior, Mr. Israel Ozana, emphasized the importance of planning even in a complex reality: “Planning is the key to success. Not all planning is implemented – but without planning, nothing is implemented. As it is said: ‘Where there is no vision, the people perish.’ 

cooperation between units is not an ‘added value’ – it is a condition for success. When units manage to work together and present a unified concept, it indicates serious professional work. We are one organization, with shared responsibility.”

Shira Goldberg, Acting Director of the Senior Strategy Department: “During the conference, ministry employees practiced their ability to provide service and step into the shoes of local authorities. Likewise, from the analysis of successful reforms, it can be learned that agreements between regulators are a decisive factor for success, especially when the reforms are complex and generate opposition. As a conclusion – this year we placed a great emphasis on cooperation at the conference and in the implementation of work plans in 2026.”

Jerusalem, 20 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — The High Court of Justice has accepted an appeal filed by ZAKA’s Legal Department, ruling that no autopsies will be conducted on the bodies of the two toddlers who died in a devastating Jerusalem daycare disaster. The appeal challenged an earlier decision by the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court. The families of three-month-old Leah Tzipora Golovnetsitz and six-month-old Aharon (Ari) Katz had objected to the autopsies on religious grounds.

Doctors at Israel’s Institute of Forensic Medicine estimated the likely cause of death was heatstroke and dehydration, possibly linked to an air conditioner set to unusually high heat in a closed room, though they stressed that a final determination has not been made.

Jerusalem, 20 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Tel Aviv-based cybersecurity firm Cyata has disclosed multiple security flaws in mcp-server-git, Anthropic’s official Git Model Context Protocol (MCP) server. The vulnerabilities, affecting versions prior to December 18, 2025, can be chained to enable remote code execution purely through prompt injection, without direct access to the target system.

Cyata cofounders Shahar Tal and Baruch Weizman warned that the flaws compromise trust boundaries in AI-assisted workflows and recommended immediate upgrades. The issues, reported to Anthropic in June 2025, were patched in December. The firm continues to lead research into AI agent security, highlighting risks in emerging agentic frameworks worldwide.

Jerusalem, 20 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israeli startup Legato raised $7 million in a seed funding round led by S Capital VC, with support from Cerca Partners. The company’s AI platform lets non-technical users create and customize apps directly inside software products, cutting the need for expensive professional services.

“SaaS platforms can no longer rely only on developers,” said CEO Dana Rochman. “Legato lets anyone build tools quickly, in minutes instead of months.”

Legato plans to use the funding to grow its AI team and speed up research and development, helping more software platforms adopt its technology.

Jerusalem, 20 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israeli biotech CannaLean Biotechs announced the successful completion of its first-in-human study of CLC-01, a novel oral cannabidiol–chitosan (CBD–CHT) therapy for high LDL cholesterol. Conducted in partnership with Clalit Health Services, Israel’s largest healthcare organization, the 12-week study showed CLC-01 was well tolerated and led to an average 28% reduction in LDL levels among participants.

“These results validate our platform,” said Chief Scientific Officer Moshe Mittelman. CannaLean plans to advance CLC-01 into larger clinical trials, aiming to provide a safe, accessible alternative for patients who cannot tolerate statins, while exploring broader global commercialization.

By Pesach Benson • January 20, 2026

Jerusalem, 20 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israeli police engaged in widespread illegal surveillance activities over more than a decade, collecting prohibited data on thousands of citizens and operating sophisticated wiretapping tools without proper legal authorization, according to a damning state audit released Tuesday.

The comprehensive report by State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman revealed that police installed technological surveillance tools on devices and intercepted communications between 2009 and 2021 while systematically circumventing judicial oversight and exceeding their legal authority. The State Comptroller regularly reviews Israel’s preparedness and the effectiveness of government policies.

“The serious deficiencies we found directly impact the fundamental principles of how law enforcement agencies exercise their power and authority, and the proper balance between the police’s duty to fight crime and its obligation to minimize infringement on the right to privacy,” the report said.

The audit examined hundreds of thousands of warrant requests, administrative permits, and millions of intercepted communications. Between 2019-2021 alone, courts approved 12,937 wiretap orders targeting 9,425 individuals. During this period, police collected 7.65 million pieces of surveillance data using technological tools whose full capabilities were never disclosed to the judges who authorized their use — or to government legal advisers responsible for oversight. This meant judges granted surveillance warrants without understanding what they were actually approving, and legal authorities could not properly evaluate whether police operations complied with the law.

The report did not identify the specific surveillance tools by name or manufacturer, referring to them generically as “technological tools” for security reasons. However, the audit described their capabilities: the tools could be installed remotely on smartphones and computers to intercept messages, track locations, and access stored data. The systems could collect 14 different types of data and retrieve historical communications created before surveillance warrants were issued.

Media reports in January 2022 that triggered the investigations suggested NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware was among the tools in question, though Englman’s audit did not confirm this. The concealment proved significant: both the Comptroller’s audit and a separate 2022 investigation by then-Deputy Attorney General Amit Merari determined that several tools exceeded police legal authority and had been used since at least 2011.

State Comptroller investigators identified 19 cases of illegal installations of surveillance equipment and 14 instances in which police used or processed prohibited intercepted materials. In nine out of 14 data categories examined, collection violated legal restrictions. Prohibited data types were collected from 40 percent of surveillance targets.

“For years, the police operated a specific technological tool for computer-to-computer communications interception hundreds of times without legislative regulation, without examination and approval by the Attorney General’s office legal advisers, and without conducting a fundamental legal discussion on the matter with government legal counsel,” the report concludes.

The investigation revealed that police legal advisers approved four technological tools and five surveillance procedures without informing the Attorney General’s office. Two of these tools and two operational methods were later found to exceed police authority after years of active use.

In emergency situations requiring immediate data access, police issued 77,705 administrative permits between 2017 and 2021. However, a sample review found that 99 percent of reports documenting these permits contained critical deficiencies, including missing information about targets, phone numbers, and approval signatures.

The audit also uncovered that police issued 630 repeat emergency permits within 3-72 hours of initial authorization, raising concerns about circumvention of judicial processes that require court orders for extended surveillance.

“The police used the administrative permit contrary to the law’s conditions and not as a means that obviates the need to approach the court,” the report said.

Oversight failures compounded operational violations. Between 2019-2021, only three of 259 internal audits examined the most sensitive operational units conducting surveillance activities. Police failed to conduct follow-up audits to verify correction of identified deficiencies, and in one instance where such verification occurred, six of seven problem areas remained uncorrected.

The report notes that prosecutors conducting criminal proceedings were often unaware of the full capabilities of technological tools used to gather evidence. This knowledge gap prevented proper evaluation of whether surveillance methods complied with legal standards and whether defendants’ rights to review evidence were adequately protected.

Englman noted that in response to Merari’s findings, the government formed a ministerial inquiry committee in August 2023 that was tasked with determining findings and conclusions regarding past actions and making recommendations for the future. However, “Until the end of the audit, the committee’s work had not been completed,” Englman said.

The audit stressed that the findings reflect systemic organizational failures rather than individual misconduct, rooted in outdated 1979 legislation inadequate for digital-age surveillance technologies. Englman called for comprehensive legislative reform and enhanced oversight mechanisms.

“The heavy burden placed on the shoulders of the audited bodies – the police, the Attorney General’s office, and the State Attorney’s office – requires them to act in a significant, purposeful, and swift manner to correct the deficiencies,” the report said.

By Pesach Benson • January 20, 2026

Jerusalem, 20 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — The Israel Land Authority (ILA) on Tuesday demolished the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) headquarters in northern Jerusalem, the central headquarters from which the embattled agency’s activities for Palestinian refugees in Judea, Samaria, and Jerusalem were managed.

“Although UNRWA’s official activity in the area was terminated about a year ago, the compound remains occupied by squatters and local officials who were illegally present there, and today’s enforcement action puts an end to the illegal possession of the property,” the ILA said.

UNRWA is banned from operating in Israel, and Israeli officials are prohibited from cooperating with the agency.

“Now that the land is returning to state management, the Authority emphasizes that the Authority will work to promote its planning and development with the aim of marketing it for the benefit of the Israeli public. There is a historic building in the compound: the ‘Police School,’ which is marked as a building for preservation, and the Authority will work to preserve it as part of the future planning of the area,” the ILA added.

In December, police raided the 11-acre compound and raised an Israeli flag over it. Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Arieh King confirmed to The Press Service of Israel at the time that the move was in response to several years of unpaid property taxes and to collect intelligence on who was operating the facility.

The ILA added that it would soon move against another UNRWA compound in eastern Jerusalem’s Kafr Aqab neighborhood.

“This is a historic day, this is a holiday, and this is a very important day for the governance of Jerusalem. For years, these terror supporters have been here, and today these terror supporters are being driven out of here with everything they built here. That’s what will happen to any terror supporter,” said Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir.

On January 15, Israeli authorities shut down a UNRWA-run health clinic in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City.

UNRWA has been under fire for years, with Israeli officials demanding the agency be stripped of its authority in Gaza and defunded amid revelations that members of the agency’s staff participated in Hamas’s October 7 attacks. Despite Israeli, U.S., and some European opposition, the U.N. General Assembly in December voted to extend UNRWA’s mandate for three more years.

Palestinian refugees are the only refugee population with its own dedicated UN agency. The rest of the world’s refugees fall under the mandate of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Around 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken captive by Hamas during the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. The body of Israeli Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili is the last remaining in Gaza.

Jerusalem, 20 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Adversa AI, an Israel-based cybersecurity company headquartered in tel aviv, has won a 2026 BIG Innovation Award for its Agentic AI Security Platform, recognizing advances in protecting autonomous AI agents. The award, presented by the US-based Business Intelligence Group, highlights products delivering measurable real-world impact.

Adversa’s platform focuses on continuous AI red teaming, addressing emerging risks as organizations deploy AI agents capable of independent planning and execution across tools, APIs and cloud systems. The company said its technology helps security teams detect threats such as goal hijacking, tool misuse and privilege abuse before deployment. “Once AI systems can take actions, security must validate behavior,” said co-founder Alex Polyakov.