Jerusalem, 12 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — President Isaac Herzog met with Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu in Jerusalem, on Monday, where they discussed the implementation of U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza.

Herzog called for the urgent return of the last hostage held in Gaza, Police Staff Sgt. Ran Gvili, and stressed the need for regional stability and disarming Hamas.

The two also discussed advancing bilateral cooperation in technology, science, security, and tourism.

Jerusalem, 12 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israeli security forces have arrested the suspect in a Palestinian shooting attack that wounded a soldier during a counterterror operation Shechem (Nablus).

The suspect, identified as Hamas operative Zaid Haraz, was arrested on Monday morning following a day-long manhunt. Additional suspects who assisted Haraz’s escape were also detained.

Jerusalem, 12 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israeli defense company Elbit Systems has secured contracts worth approximately $275 million to equip an Asia-Pacific country’s helicopters with advanced electronic warfare (EW) and missile-defense systems. Over five years, Elbit will supply its integrated EW suite and Mini-MUSIC Direct Infra-Red Counter-Measure (DIRCM) system, designed to detect and disrupt incoming missiles, enhancing aircraft survivability and mission effectiveness.

Bezhalel Machlis, Elbit’s CEO, said the deals reflect growing regional trust in Israel’s combat-proven defense technologies.

Over the weekend and in recent days, Rotem District police officers, in cooperation with the Matpa unit, led an operational activity in several complexes and neighborhoods of feuding families. 

In the town of Ar’ara BaNegev, forces from the Ar’ara station and the Matpa unit operated and conducted searches for weapons. At the end of the operation, four M-16 rifles, combat equipment, and ammunition were located.

Over the weekend, a report was received about a shooting incident in the area of the old cemetery in Abu Asaa settlement. Police officers from the Tel Sheva municipal policing unit conducted searches and located a suspect holding a hunting rifle. The suspect was arrested and transferred for investigation at the Ayarot station.

In another operation by Beer Sheva station police officers, in cooperation with the Shahar 101 unit and the Southern District dog handlers, a weapons search was conducted in the town of Tel Sheva. A suspect was arrested holding an M-16 rifle and ammunition.

In parallel, a combined economic activity took place as part of the “Manifa” operations, in conjunction with civilian enforcement agencies, during which dozens of vehicles were taken off the road, fines totaling tens of thousands of shekels were issued to debtors, and vehicles were seized for debts amounting to hundreds of thousands of shekels.

Jerusalem, 12 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Arab media reports say Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has been hospitalized in Ramallah. The 90-year-old Abbas is in the 21st year of a four-year term.

The Tax Authority announces that the total levies collected by 31/12/2025 for oil profits and excess profits from natural resources amounted to NIS 8.8 billion, of which NIS 7.3 billion are final levies. In total, approximately NIS 1.3 billion were collected in 2025, compared to approximately NIS 1 billion in 2024. Approximately NIS 1.2 billion became final, compared to NIS 1.4 billion in 2024.

Non-final levies are levies collected as advances or as withholding tax during the tax year, and their collection is not yet final. After the end of the tax year, according to the amount of the levy calculated in the annual report submitted, the levy will become final, in whole or in part. Final levies are levies collected according to annual reports submitted by the owners of oil and natural resource rights, as well as levies collected following a final assessment.

The Tax Authority transfers the collected levy funds (final and non-final) to the Accountant General at the Ministry of Finance on a quarterly basis. The Accountant General manages the non-final levies in a fund for an interim period until they become final, and transfers the final levies, along with investment profits (or net of losses), to the State of Israel Fund on a quarterly basis, after they have been converted to a foreign currency amount.

The levies for excess profits from oil and natural resources are collected in accordance with the Natural Resources Profits Taxation Law. According to this law, the funds received from the levies will be managed in accordance with the provisions of the State of Israel Fund Law. The purpose of the fund is to manage the state’s revenues from levies on profits from natural resources with a long-term economic perspective to maximize profit and to ensure the continued existence of the fund for future generations. In addition to the levies on oil profits and excess profits from natural resources designated for the State of Israel Fund, oil rights holders and natural resource utilization rights holders also pay income tax and royalties, which enter the state budget on an ongoing basis.

Data by Year:

Data by Quarter for 2025:

The Ministerial Committee for Legislation approved the banking services competition reform, which aims to increase competition in the banking system and lower Interest Rates for small and medium-sized businesses as well as households. The reform, led by the Ministry of Finance, will improve credit conditions and financial services and is a central component in the fight against the high Cost of Living.

The reform will enable several dramatic steps:

– Competition in Deposits: The entry of new entities that can become banks and offer the public higher interest rates on deposits and on current account funds.
– Credit Easing for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses and Households: Encouraging the establishment of new banks that will specialize in credit for small and medium-sized businesses and households, and will offer credit at lower interest rates.
– Dual Solution: Encouraging the establishment of new banks that can compete with existing banks by offering deposits to the public, and can also provide cheaper credit based on those deposits. Thus, the reform is both a central component in the fight against the high Cost of Living, and will help small and medium-sized businesses operate and grow through cheaper and more convenient financing. 

In fact, the reform will allow the entry of new banking players from Israel and abroad, who will bring with them competition that will lower the cost of money for businesses, households, and the economy as a whole, as well as financial innovation, advanced products, and diverse offerings, while improving service quality and its adaptation to public needs.

The Ministerial Committee for Legislative Amendments approved the advancement of the law following the government’s decision to adopt it as part of the Arrangements Law. Legislative proceedings will begin with the expected submission of the state budget to the Knesset this week.
 

Jerusalem, 12 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — The Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of Finance have approved budgetary additions to the metro project in Tirat Carmel and Haifa, adding to a total investment of approximately 700 million Shekels ($220 million).

The metro, whose new line route extends over about ten kilometers, is expected to create a rapid transportation continuum that will connect Tirat Carmel and Haifa West to the commercial, employment and leisure centers, including direct access to Sammy Ofer Stadium.

The works, which are already underway, include paving designated priority lanes, establishing 30 new and sophisticated stations equipped with real-time information displays, and implementing technological infrastructure for priority at intersections. Alongside these, the project is upgrading the urban space with illuminated bike paths, new sidewalks, and extensive landscape development.

Jerusalem, 12 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Tourism Minister Haim Katz will soon submit for government approval a first-of-its-kind plan for the development of tourism in Judea and Samaria, with a total budget of approximately 86 million Shekels ($27 million).

The Ministry said the move is intended to reduce ongoing infrastructure gaps in the area, which has less than 2% of hotel rooms in Israel, despite a unique concentration of heritage, natural, and religious sites with national and international tourism potential.

The Ministry of Tourism emphasized that the expected return for a hotel entrepreneur in Judea and Samaria is currently estimated at only 4%, one of the lowest in Israel, and that without proactive government intervention, a tourism industry will not develop in the region.