An investigation by Uri Misgav in Haaretz’s weekend magazine says the Netanyahu family has quietly moved in recent months to a seventh residence, a Jerusalem apartment building where the state pays the rent for four, effectively five, apartments. One apartment has been converted into a beauty salon with manicure tables, contrary to legal advice, and Yair Netanyahu, who has returned from Florida, is also staying there. State employees are said to occasionally deliver toast from the Prime Minister’s Office kitchen for him.
The report says public spending on the prime minister’s official and private homes has reached close to NIS 100 million, with tens of millions more spent on private properties. The official residence on Balfour Street in Jerusalem has stood empty and under renovation for four years at a cost of about NIS 50 million, and professionals suspect the delays are intended to keep public funding flowing for the family’s private properties.
Other costly sites include the Caesarea villa, vacant for two years because of protests and a Hezbollah drone strike, yet still receiving extensive work such as waterproofing, pool tiling, dozens of ornamental trees and fortified windows for NIS 1.7 million. The old duplex at 35 Gaza Road, slated for demolition, has already cost about NIS 10 million for fortified windows and a special ceiling requiring engineering reinforcement, while NIS 27 million was spent in 2023 alone on that property and Caesarea combined. Another private house, at 4 HaPo’arzim Street, received about NIS 300,000 for sealing, curtains and a guard post after Sara Netanyahu said she needed a quiet workplace, though it is now empty.
The investigation also cites the family’s stay for a month at billionaire Simon Falic’s compound in East Talpiot during the first month of the war, until it was ruled an improper benefit, and a planned government complex in the government precinct that was scrapped by the Shin Bet because it was exposed to snipers. Despite that, the Prime Minister’s Office allegedly approved another NIS 37 million for redesigning the project during the war. The Netanyahu family, the Prime Minister’s Office and the Shin Bet declined to comment, as did senior officials named in the report. The Finance Ministry said the security requirements for the residences were set by the authorized body and that the works were carried out lawfully after professional review.
