Jerusalem, 22 December, 2025 (TPS-IL) — Prime Minister Netanyahu met with visiting Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

The meeting took place as part of the Israel-Greece-Cyprus political summit, which Prime Minister Netanyahu is hosting at the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem. The Prime Minister and the Prime Minister of Greece first held a personal meeting, followed by an expanded meeting with the participation of the countries’ foreign ministers and other senior officials.

“We will continue to work together, consistently and with determination, to strengthen security, promote economic development, and deepen the ties between our countries and our peoples,” said Netahyahu.

Jerusalem, 22 December, 2025 (TPS-IL) — In a joint enforcement operation by the Israel Police District, Israel’s National Insurance Institute, and its Population and Immigration Authority called “National Justice,” about 200 families living in Judea and Samaria were exposed who committed fraud by making false declarations in order to receive social rights/benefits reserved for residents of Israel.

During the operation, authorities worked to expose what they called a “serious fraud against the State of Israel,” in which Israeli residents whose actual lives are centered in Judea and Samaria made false statements in order to receive allowances, benefits, and social rights.

The National Insurance Institute emphasized that only residents of Israel are entitled to social rights. If it is discovered that false affidavits were submitted and those who submitted them are not residents, the rights will be denied according to the law.

The operation is expected to bring tens of millions of shekels into the state coffers, through the denial of entitlements, the return of funds, and the prevention of future fraud, along with strengthening public order and trust in state institutions.

Jerusalem, 22 December, 2025 (TPS-IL) — Israel’s Ministry of the Interior and its Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology have joined forces for a first-of-its-kind initiative: a call for applied research in the core areas of local authorities, regional clusters and municipal corporations. The ministries said this is part of a strategic move to promote “quality local government.”

“This initiative constitutes a vital bridge between the academic world and the complex challenges facing local government, and aims to leverage advanced research knowledge into practical solutions that will improve the services provided to residents and establish data-based decision-making,” said the ministries.

The call is built around three main goals:

Promoting applied research in critical areas of local government in Israel.

Encouraging fruitful and ongoing cooperation between academic researchers and local government bodies and government ministries.

Making decision-support tools, models for development and improvement available in various public bodies, in a manner that leads to effective policies and results, and optimal public services for residents.

Out of dozens of proposals submitted, ten outstanding studies with high applied potential to bring about tangible change were selected. The ten studies selected from the many proposals submitted represent a wide range of innovative solutions that will directly impact the quality of life of residents throughout Israel.

Jerusalem, 22 December, 2025 (TPS-IL) — The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) on Monday attacked two Hezbollah terrorists in the Yatar region in southern lebanon.

As part of the attacks, the IDF killed a terrorist who was attempting to rebuild Hezbollah’s military infrastructure in the region, and his actions constituted a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.

Last week, forces from the IDF’s 91st Division – the Galilee Formation – eliminated four terrorists in southern Lebanon.

The IDF pledged it “will continue to act to eliminate any threat to the State of Israel.”

Jerusalem, 22 December, 2025 (TPS-IL) — The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) Monday afternoon attacked a number of Hezbollah terrorists in the Sidon region of southern lebanon.

The IDF did provide any further details.

Jerusalem, 22 December, 2025 (TPS-IL) — The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) said that on Monday afternoon a number of Israeli citizens who breached the border in the Golan Heights area into Syrian territory.

IDF forces rushed to the spot, located the citizens and returned them safely to the territory of the State of Israel.

The IDF said the suspects who were captured will be transferred to the Israel Police for further processing.

“The IDF strongly condemns the incident and emphasizes that this is a serious incident that constitutes a criminal offense that endangers civilians and IDF forces,” it said.

According to the Israel Police there were seven people who crossed the border.

Jerusalem, 22 December, 2025 (TPS-IL) — The following are the end of day exchange rates as set by the Bank of Israel Monday, December 22, 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 | 3.2060 | ‎-0.062%
GB Pound | 1 | 4.3056 | +0.34%
Japanese Yen | 100 | 2.0370 | ‎-0.425%
Euro | 1 | 3.7637 | +0.165%
AUS Dollar | 1 | 2.1303 | +0.552%
Can Dollar | 1 | 2.3284 | +0.095%
DAN Krone | 1 | 0.5039 | +0.199%
NOR Krone | 1 | 0.3167 | +0.444%
SA Rand | 1 | 0.1919 | +0.261%
SWD Krona | 1 | 0.3468 | +0.201%
SWS Franc | 1 | 4.0398 | ‎-0.051%

Jerusalem, 22 December, 2025 (TPS-IL) — The Israeli government on Monday approved a NIS 1 billion ($310 million) plan to develop agriculture, water infrastructure, and environmental protection in communities near the northern border for 2026–2029. The multi-year initiative, led by the Northern Development Directorate in coordination with the Ministries of Agriculture, Finance, Environmental Protection, and the Water Authority, aims to strengthen food security and regional growth.

The plan includes NIS 418 million ($130 million) for agricultural investment, NIS 435 million ($135 million) for water and sewage infrastructure, and NIS 154 million ($48 million) for environmental restoration.

Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter called it a “dramatic change for Israeli agriculture,” while Minister Ze’ev Elkin highlighted its role in promoting demographic and economic growth in the North.

Jerusalem, 21 December, 2025 (TPS-IL) — Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority reported today that in the past 24 hours, 16 Georgian passengers who were expected to fly from Sochi to Israel were prevented from boarding a flight. Four other Georgian travelers were refused entry into the country.

The background to preventing their arrival is an alert from the Population and Immigration Authority’s border control center, which processed the passengers’ data, which raised serious concerns that they were coming for the purpose of settling down and not tourism.

In light of the aforementioned information, Border Control informed the airline that the passengers should not be allowed to board the flight.

A few hours later, border controllers at Ben Gurion Airport located four Georgian passengers who had landed at Ben Gurion Airport with the aim of infiltrating. In this case too, it was the work of the border controllers, in cooperation with the hotline employees, that made it possible to locate them and deny them entry.