Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu announced that if he is elected, one of the first decisions he plans to cancel is the approval on Sunday for the construction of a new official residence for the prime minister, at a cost of NIS 650 million. The new structure is planned to be a new government complex that would include both the Prime Minister’s Office and Prime Minister’s Residence.

Despite objections from four cabinet ministers, including Finance Minister Bar-On who insisted the money for the project simply is not there, the government approved it. The ministers voted that the sum would be taken from the national budget over a period of 20 years.

According to the proponents of the master plan, it would save the nation at least NIS16 million annually in security costs, involved in the transportation needs of the prime minister and his guests between the residence and the office today. The project would place the entire operational and residential facilities of the prime minister in the central complex, to be constructed near the Foreign Ministry, with a completion date of 2031.

Speaking at an election rally in Haifa, Netanyahu expressed criticism against Kadima candidate, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who did not take part in the vote. He stated she should have raised her hand to oppose it if she truly does as she indicates, but she avoided the controversial move, taking a benign position, as Livni’s critics insist is her habit.

In essence, the preliminary work on the complex began in 2002, and now, at this stage, it requires an additional cabinet approval.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)