Jerusalem, 18 December, 2025 (TPS-IL) — The Israel Police confirmed that 13 officers were injured after a group of ultra-orthodox people rioted in a religious neighborhood. The incident began Thursday morning when a local Jerusalem parking inspector gave a ticket to a parked vehicle.

The municipal inspector stated that he was attacked by two youths who kicked his body and threatened his life. As a result, officers from the Jerusalem District were dispatched to the scene and arrested a suspect.

At this stage, said the police, hundreds of rioters began to gather in attempts to free the detainee, while throwing objects at the police and causing damage to the police vehicle, which was overturned by them, and additional forces and Border Police fighters were called in to assist.

As a result of the violence and the rioters’ actions, 13 police officers were injured lightly, and five of them were evacuated for medical treatment. In addition, significant damage was caused to four police vehicles.

During the forces’ activity and in accordance with the intensity of the disturbance, various means intended for handling disturbances were used, including the use of batons, stun grenades and gas, water cannons, and more.

During the disturbances, four suspects were arrested by the police, including the suspect who allegedly attacked the municipal inspector.

Jerusalem District Commander, Deputy Commissioner Ronen Avdiya, conducted a situation assessment in the field and ordered the continuation of operations to restore order.

Jerusalem, 18 December, 2025 (TPS-IL) — The following are the end of day exchange rates as set by the Bank of Israel Thursday, December 18, 2025:
(Units are given in the foreign currency and the rate is given in its value in Shekels)

Currency | Unit | Rate (NIS) | Daily Change (against the Shekel)
US Dollar | 1 | 3.2180 | ‎-0.155%
GB Pound | 1 | 4.2968 | ‎-0.033%
Japanese Yen | 100 | 2.0652 | ‎-0.343%
Euro | 1 | 3.7728 | ‎-0.087%
AUS Dollar | 1 | 2.1263 | -0.328%
Can Dollar | 1 | 2.3343 | ‎-0.133%
DAN Krone | 1 | 0.5050 | ‎-0.079%
NOR Krone | 1 | 0.3153 | 0%
SA Rand | 1 | 0.1920 | -0.26%
SWD Krona | 1 | 0.3459 | +0.203%
SWS Franc | 1 | 4.0472 | ‎-0.02%

Jerusalem, 18 December, 2025 (TPS-IL) — Israeli and German defense officials in Germany formally signed an expanded agreement for the sale of the Arrow 3 missile defense system on Thursday, the Israeli Defense Ministry announced.

The expanded deal is valued at an additional $3.1 billion, bringing the total agreement to more than $6.7 billion, making it Israel’s largest defense export deal to date.

Arrow 3 is an exo-atmospheric missile defense system designed to intercept long-range ballistic missiles.

The system scored its first operational success when it shot down a ballistic missile fired by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen in November 2023. It is widely believed to be the first time a missile was intercepted in outer space, though Israeli officials have not confirmed this.

Jerusalem, 18 December, 2025 (TPS-IL) — Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works and Israeli drone company XTEND have combined their technologies to let a single operator control multiple types of drones at once. In a recent demonstration, larger drones delivered smaller ones for close-up missions, cutting the need for extra operators and improving situational awareness.

XTEND, with offices in Tel Aviv, Tampa, Singapore, and Latvia, provides systems that work even when GPS is blocked or signals are jammed. The partnership aims to make complex missions easier and boost autonomous drone operations in joint all-domain command and control.

Jerusalem, 18 December, 2025 (TPS-IL) — In Gaza, Israeli aircraft killed a terrorist who crossed the Yellow Line and approached them in a way that posed an immediate threat to soldiers, the Israel Defense Forces said on Thursday.

Jerusalem, 18 December, 2025 (TPS-IL) — Israel struck Hezbollah military targets in multiple locations across Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed on Thursday morning.

According to the IDF, the operations dismantled terror infrastructure and launch sites within a Hezbollah compound used for training militants, storing weapons, and conducting artillery exercises. The IDF said the compound hosted courses where Hezbollah fighters practiced shooting and learned to use various weapons for attacks.

Additional strikes targeted other military structures used by the group over recent months.

Jerusalem, 18 December, 2025 (TPS-IL) — Israeli biopharmaceutical company Protalix BioTherapeutics has signed a collaboration and option agreement with Germany’s Secarna Pharmaceuticals to jointly develop antisense oligonucleotide therapies for rare kidney diseases. Under the deal, Protalix will select biological targets, while Secarna will use its AI-powered OligoCreator platform to design and profile drug candidates. The partners aim to advance selected programs from preclinical research toward clinical trials.

Protalix has received an option to acquire an exclusive, worldwide license to further develop, commercialize and market any resulting compounds, with milestone and royalty payments to Secarna. The agreement marks Protalix’s expansion into RNA-based therapies for rare renal conditions.

Jerusalem, 18 December, 2025 (TPS-IL) — ICL, an Israel-based specialty minerals and food ingredients group, has agreed to acquire Canada’s Bartek Ingredients in a two-phase transaction aimed at expanding its global food ingredients business.

Under the deal, ICL will make an initial cash investment of about $90 million to acquire roughly 50 percent of Bartek, with the first phase expected to close in the first quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. The second phase would see ICL acquire the remaining shares and is contingent on business and integration milestones.

Bartek, headquartered in Ontario, serves customers in more than 40 countries and generates about $65 million in annual revenue.

Jerusalem, 18 December, 2025 (TPS-IL) — Israeli-US focused ultrasound company Insightec announced the spin-out of Lotus Neuro, a new clinical-stage biotechnology firm aimed at advancing brain-targeted therapies using low-frequency focused ultrasound. Insightec, which is headquartered in Haifa and Miami, said the move is intended to accelerate drug delivery across the blood-brain barrier by pairing its device platform with advanced medicines. Lotus Neuro will initially focus on neuro-oncology indications, including glioblastoma.

The new company is funded by US-based Nexus NeuroTech Ventures and will be led by physician Arjun JJ Desai, formerly a senior executive at Insightec and at US healthcare group Johnson & Johnson.