Jerusalem, 1 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — As part of the “Connecting Israel” vision to strengthen transportation connectivity between the Be’er Sheva metropolitan area and the center of the country. Within this framework, an additional Budget of 145 million Shekels ($45 million) was approved to promote the high-speed rail in the section between Kfar Menachem and Be’er Sheva, which joins the approval of the establishment of the high-speed line from Ben Gurion Airport. The total budget for the project now stands at approximately 155 million Shekels ($48 million).

The project includes the construction of two new high-speed rails, which will be operated alongside the two existing rails, and will in the future allow travel at speeds of up to 250 km/h.

This Transportation Ministry said the move is expected to “significantly shorten” travel times between Be’er Sheva and Tel Aviv and make the train the preferred and fastest alternative for road users, while reducing congestion on the main thoroughfares.

Jerusalem, 1 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israel’s Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara asked the country’s High Court to intercede in the matter of Itamar Ben-Gvir’s continued service as Israel’s Minister of National Security.

In an open letter released Thursday night, Baharav-Miara told the court, “A conditional order is required that would require the Prime Minister to explain why he is not removing the Minister of National Security, MK Ben Gvir, from his position.”

The reason:

“Minister Ben Gvir is abusing his position to improperly influence the activities of the Israel Police in the most sensitive areas of law enforcement and investigations and is violating basic democratic principles,” wrote the Attorney General.

Jerusalem, 1 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israel’s Ministry of Transportation will invest millions of shekels in 2026 in smart transportation test centers in Ashdod and Be’er Sheva.

Among the projects is the development and upgrading of the smart transportation and cyber trial centers, operating in Ashdod and Be’er Sheva. The centers are operated by the Ayalon Highways Company in collaboration with national entities, and provide advanced infrastructure for testing, testing and implementing innovative technologies, while combining technological development, safety and smart regulation.

“The budget approved by the government will enable a transition from development and experimentation to gradual implementation in the field, while maintaining safety, advanced regulation and public value,” said the Ministry.

Jerusalem, 1 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — As of today, January 1, 2026, the water Law goes into effect and water rates for agriculture are decreasing. The reduction in water tariffs was promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security as part of the amendment to the law is part of an overall policy to strengthen the four means of agricultural production: water, land, labor, and research and innovation.

The ministry notes that reducing water prices is a necessary condition for implementing the National Food Security Plan.

Under the law, the price of wastewater from the Shafdan plant will be determined from now until 2030 without taking into account treatment costs, which will result in a significant reduction in the rate for farmers. In addition, the price of fresh water for farmers in localities where there is no alternative to treated water will be gradually reduced over five years.

According to the new outline, the fresh water rate for agriculture will range from 1.50 to 2.70 NIS per cubic meter, depending on the availability of wastewater in the area. In areas without an alternative to treated water, where the price has so far been about 2.14 Shekels per cubic meter, water will now be discounted by about 34%. The price of Shafdan water is also expected to gradually decrease and reach about 1.15 Shekels per cubic meter within three years, a reduction of 22% compared to the price paid before the new law.

Jerusalem, 1 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israel’s Ministry of the Interior said that, in 2025, the balancing grants amounted to a record amount of approximately 3.74 billion Shekels ($1.15 billion), as part of what it described as “the new balancing formula designed to correct historical distortions, deepen transparency, and strengthen the budgetary certainty of Local Authorities,” within which 300 million Shekels ($94 million) were added to the budget base for the distribution of balancing grants.

This as, towards the end of the budget year 2025, and after approval by the Knesset Finance Committee in the last hours of the year, the ministry transferred “record amounts” in funding to local authorities, including balancing grants, development grants, indemnity grants to authorities that were damaged during the Rising Lion war with Iran, and other special grants.

As part of the development grants to local authorities, approximately 1 billion Shekels ($310 million) and approximately 500 million Shekels ($156 million) in ongoing grants were transferred to authorities in a wide variety of areas (over 150 million Shekels, cumulatively, grants for the localities within the borders of Judea and Samaria, over 80 million Shekels to regional councils, over 80 million Shekels for budgeting housing incentives, and approximately 50 million Shekels for budgeting and developing bathing beaches, etc.).

Jerusalem, 1 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) reported that, as of the start of 2026, Israel’s population is estimated at 10.178 million residents.

Of these 7.771 million are Jews and others (76.3% of the total population), 2.147 million are Arabs (21.1%) and 0.26 million are foreign nationals (2.6%).

During 2025, Israel’s population grew by 1.1%. The population growth rate was the same as in 2024 (the growth rate at the end of 2024 was 1.1%). The decrease in the growth rate is mainly due to the high number of Israelis emigrating from Israel in 2024, said the CBS.

During the year, approximately 182,000 babies were born (approximately 76% to Jewish and “other” mothers, and approximately 24% to Arab mothers).

The international migration balance in 2025 was negative and stood at approximately 20,000.

At the end of 2025, the Israeli population grew by approximately 112,000 people, a growth rate of 1.1%. The population grew by approximately 132,000 residents from natural increase (births minus deaths) and decreased by approximately 20,000 residents from international migration.

During 2025, approximately 50,000 Israelis died, approximately 2,000 fewer than the number of deaths in 2024 (approximately 52,000). However, there was a small change in the death rate in 2025 compared to 2024 – 5.3 per 1,000 residents in 2024 compared to 5.2 per 1,000 residents in 2025.

Jerusalem, 1 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — A network of arms dealers that supplied weapons to residents of the Bedouin towns Rahat and Segev Shalom in the Negev was exposed and thwarted, said the Israel Police, and 14 suspects were arrested and weapons were seized.

The arrests came after, over the past year the police conducted what it called a “covert, complex and prolonged” investigation against a broad infrastructure for trafficking in illegal weapons. The investigation led to the exposure of a network of arms dealers that operated systematically throughout the sector, transferring weapons from the Judea and Samaria sector to the Southern District, where they were used by criminal elements in the Bedouin diaspora for violent conflicts and serious criminal activity.

“The intelligence and operational activity within the framework of the affair resulted in significant damage to the arms trade infrastructure and the prevention of a real and immediate danger to human life,” said the police.

The Ministry of Health is announcing a requirement to boil water before drinking, cooking, preparing medicine, and brushing teeth in the settlement of Beit Yanai, following unusual water sampling results.

Water may be used for bathing and sanitation.

The Ministry of Health has instructed the water supplier to take actions to improve water quality and to conduct water quality tests. 

This instruction is valid until further notice.

Jerusalem, 1 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israel’s Ministry of Communications fined Bezeq NIS 8 million ($2.5 million) after ministry regulators found that the telecom giant had deployed fiber services in designated “incentive areas” intended to encourage smaller providers. The ministry said Bezeq’s actions gave the company an unfair advantage and undermined the viability of incentive-tender winners.

Dominant market players are barred from operating in these zones for five years to promote competition and reduce digital gaps.

The ministry is continuing its third and final incentive tender rollout.