Jerusalem, 13 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Tel Aviv-based CytoReason unveiled LINA, an AI assistant designed to speed up pharmaceutical research, at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference. LINA helps scientists analyze medical data and understand how diseases work at the molecular level.

Unlike standard AI chatbots that can produce incorrect information, LINA is built on specialized disease models that keep its answers accurate and grounded in real biology. The platform generates analysis code and explains how genes and cells behave in different patients. CytoReason is testing LINA with major pharmaceutical companies including Takeda.

Jerusalem, 13 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office released, for the first time, the recommendations of its inter-ministerial team on government innovation. The roadmap aims to boost the efficiency and effectiveness of public services by connecting initiatives, removing systemic barriers, and accelerating innovative solutions.

Presented at the cornerstone-laying ceremony for the new Government Innovation Space, the recommendations emphasize portfolio management, grassroots support under a strategic umbrella, workforce skill development, and incentivizing risk-friendly management.

Israel recently joined the OECD’s Observatory of Public Sector Innovation, which guided the team with international best practices.

The Governance and Social Affairs Department of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is publishing, for the first time, the recommendations of the inter-ministerial team on innovation in government. This initiative aims to create a significant leap in the effectiveness and efficiency of public services and solutions. This will be achieved by laying out a strategic, holistic, and practical roadmap to concentrate efforts, connect and leverage processes, and by identifying, supporting, and accelerating innovative initiatives while removing systemic barriers to their advancement.

Yesterday, during the cornerstone-laying ceremony for the Government Innovation Space, attended by Accountant General Yali Rothenberg and PMO Deputy Director General for Governance and Social Affairs Liron Hantz, the guiding principles underlying the team’s recommendations were presented. The establishment of this Innovation Space, created by the Accountant General’s Office and the PMO with the support of the inter-ministerial team, serves as a practical implementation of the strategic principles outlined in the report.

Recently, as part of the formulation of these recommendations, the Government of Israel joined the OPSI (Observatory of Public Sector Innovation) of the OECD. The OECD provided procedural and professional guidance to the team, based on international trends and in-depth learning from meetings with government officials in various countries. Israel’s Ambassador to the OECD, Shay Cohen, noted that this is a core issue for the organization in its efforts to assist member states with effective governance and the implementation of innovation. He added that for Israel, cooperation with the OECD in innovation is a top priority.

The inter-ministerial team consists of senior representatives from the Center of Governance (COG) – including the Ministry of Finance, the National Digital Directorate, the Ministry of Justice, and the Civil Service Commission –consulting with various stakeholders inside and outside of government. The team was established in July 2023 with the backing of the directors-general of these government agencies.

Among other things, the professional work establishes the first operational doctrine for institutional-procedural innovation in the government. This includes a comprehensive approach to these efforts that goes beyond just digitization and digital innovation.

Main recommendations:

Portfolio Management: Creating and managing a government-wide, measurable portfolio of efforts based on a shared conceptual framework.

Hybrid Model: A model for managing innovation that supports and encourages grassroots initiatives while providing a strategic professional “umbrella” from a Center of Government (COG) perspective.

Removing Barriers: Focusing on the removal of obstacles to innovation as a central effort to enable progress.

Acceleration and Support: Supporting entrepreneurs and initiatives across the government to realize and leverage capabilities, including within dedicated spaces.

Human Capital Skills: Providing tools and skills for the workforce, emphasizing focused development and implementation “capsules.”

Incentivizing Management: Encouraging government bodies and managers to adopt risk management practices that enable and promote innovation.

PMO Acting Director General Drorit Steinmetz:

“We will continue to act out of a commitment to promoting a more efficient, smart, and effective public service for the benefit of Israel’s citizens. The team’s recommendations strengthen our ability to take previous efforts forward and connect them to bring greater collective benefit.”

PMO Deputy Director General for Governance and Social Affairs Liron Hantz:

“Innovation in government is not a luxury but a necessity. In this first-of-its-kind roadmap, we are creating a professional doctrine based on OECD principles. It aims to instill innovation throughout all government branches, accelerating innovative moves to leverage overall capabilities for the public’s benefit. The ‘Start-Up Nation’ must include the public sector and not remain the domain of the business sector alone.”

Full report link:

https://www.gov.il/BlobFolder/generalpage/files251124/he/teamreport120126.pdf

Jerusalem, 12 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — The Israel Tax Authority announced that total levies collected from taxation of excess profits from natural resources by the end of 2025 increased to 8.8 billion Shekels ($2.7 billion), of which 7.3 billion Shekels ($2.3 billion) were absolute levies. In total, approximately 1.3 billion Shekels ($410 million) were collected in 2025, compared to approximately 1 billion Shekels ($310 million) in 2024. Approximately 1.2 billion Shekels ($380 million) became absolute, compared to 1.4 billion Shekels ($315 million) in 2024.

Non-final levies are levies that were collected as advances or as a deduction at source during the tax year and their collection is not yet final. After the end of the tax year, depending on the amount of the levy that will be calculated in the annual report that will be submitted, the said levy, in whole or in part, will become final. Final levies are levies that were collected based on annual reports submitted by the owners of oil and natural resource rights, as well as levies that were collected following a final assessment.

Jerusalem, 12 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Police seized five M-16 rifles and ammunition during an operational activity in bedouin settlements, along with an economic enforcement operation during which dozens of vehicles were taken off the road.

In the settlement of Arara in the Negev, police conducting searches to locate weapons. At the end of the activity, four M-16 rifles, combat equipment and ammunition were located.

Over the weekend, a report was received of a shooting incident in the area of the old cemetery in the Abu Asa neighborhood. Police officers from the Tel Sheva Municipal Police Unit conducted searches and located a suspect holding a hunting rifle. The suspect was arrested and taken for questioning at the Towns Station.

In another operation by police officers from the Beer Sheva station, in cooperation with the 101st Dawn Unit and Southern District dogs, a weapons search was conducted in the Tel Sheva community. A suspect was arrested while in possession of an M-16 rifle and ammunition.

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

Jerusalem, 12 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — During the night, hundreds of police raided the Shu’fat refugee camp in northern Jerusalem, arrested eight suspects and seized weapons, ammunition, drugs and stolen IDF (Israel Defense Forces) equipment.

This came as the “Capital Shield” program was launched Sunday night, part of the Israel Police’s fight against criminal elements, terrorist infrastructures, and troublemakers, with the participation of hundreds of Border Police surrounding Jerusalem and Jerusalem District police officers.

This is a large-scale operational plan that was formulated upon the assumption of the position of Jerusalem District Commander, Major General Avshalom Peled, as a strategic response to the need to strengthen sovereignty and deepen governance in the area surrounding Jerusalem and the villages adjacent to the fence. The operation focuses on offensive and proactive activity in the heart of the area, while combining precise intelligence with advanced operational capabilities, with the aim of increasing the personal security of all residents of Jerusalem in particular and Israel in general.

Jerusalem, 12 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — 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 and households. The reform, led by the Ministry of Finance, will improve credit conditions and financial services and is a key component in the fight against the cost of living.

The reform will enable several dramatic steps:

– Competition in deposits: Introducing new entities that can be banks and offer the public higher interest rates on deposits and money in savings accounts.

– Easing credit 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 will be able to compete with existing banks in offering deposits to the public, and will also be able to provide cheaper credit based on those deposits. Thus, the reform also constitutes a central component in the fight against the cost of living, and will also help small and medium-sized businesses operate and grow through cheaper and more convenient financing.

According to the CEO, “As of today, approximately 73,000 foreign workers have arrived in Israel through all channels, the highest number recorded to date.” Morgenstern further emphasized that “the steps we have taken in the industry, led by Minister Haim Katz, through the private track, are yielding results on the ground. The approved quota stands at approximately 110,000, but the gap necessitates continued accelerated action.” He also noted that “with the end of the fighting, there is an increase in interest in the call for proposals for foreign companies, and data from the field shows that the private track is working well after adjustments were made according to the industry’s needs.”

The CEO added that “the construction duration in Israel has increased and currently stands at approximately 38 months on average, and increasing the workforce in the industry is a key condition for shortening timelines and increasing the actual supply of apartments.”

The committee chair, MK Eti Hava Attia, emphasized during the discussion the critical need to reduce fees in the construction industry and also mentioned that she is submitting a bill that will reduce the annual fees for foreign workers, ease the burden on employers, and encourage legal and fair employment.

Director General of the Ministry of Construction and Housing, Yehuda Morgenstern:
“I thank the committee chair, MK Eti Hava Attia, for the diligent work for the benefit of the construction industry. To accelerate construction and increase the supply of apartments, we must continue to expand the foreign worker system. This means integrating additional bilateral agreements, increasing the pool of foreign companies, extending and deepening the private track, and reducing bureaucracy and fees. Under the leadership of Minister Haim Katz, we have taken significant steps, but there is still work to be done to reach the pace the economy needs.”

Jerusalem, 12 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — The Ministry of Transportation and Road Safety and the Ministry of Finance have approved a significant budget addition of 10 million Shekels ($3.15 million) for 2025 for the Afula Eastern Bypass project. With the approval of the additional budget, the total government participation in the project, which is being carried out through the Israel Roads Company, stands at approximately 351 million Shekels ($110 million).

The approved budget, said the Ministry, is intended to complete the planning of the project, which includes the resurfacing of the intersection – an essential engineering and safety measure that will, among other things, allow for an orderly exit from the neighborhood toward the center of the country.

The Eastern Afula Bypass is a large-scale national infrastructure project, which is an essential step towards removing transportation “bottlenecks” that limit the development of the entire area. The project is designed to create a strategic transportation artery that will allow for the controlled diversion of heavy traffic and intercity traffic flows from the residential and business center of Afula to a modern axis with a high engineering standard.