Supporters of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu accuse his adversaries of simply looking for dirt to discredit him while they insist the Prime Minister and his wife are guilty of excessive spending. The following information was released after the Movement for Freedom of Information probed spending in the official Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem, as well as the Netanyahu homes in Caesarea and Jerusalem. In 2014 that amount totaled close to NIS 2 million, which the movement feels it beyond acceptable spending. It is also pointed out that while the information has been released, the details and amounts of 175 receipts remain closed as the Netanyahus explain revealing the contents would be an encroachment on their privacy.

Some of the items that seem to have attracted attention include; NIS 26,000 for psychological evaluations for employees of the PM’s residences and NIS 691,000 for cleaning in all three venues (Over NIS 1,800 a day).

The PMO explains there is nothing out of the ordinary and all the payments were made in accordance to the law and are the same as previous prime ministers. Likud officials accuse Mr. Netanyahu’s adversaries of rummaging through his life in the hope of uncovering something when there is nothing there. Supporters add they cannot beat Mr. Netanyahu at the polls so they are looking for alternative ways of ousting him.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)