Israeli PM Netanyahu’s Official Residence Renovation Costs Total 103 Million Shekels, Partial Data Revealed

An official response from the Prime Minister's Office, provided following a petition by the Givat Mordechai community association to the Jerusalem District Court, has disclosed partial data on expenses related to various official residences. According to a report by ynet, while the office detailed past renovation costs for former Prime Ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, it withheld significant information regarding current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence and security upgrades in Caesarea after a drone attack.

The disclosed figures reveal that renovation costs for the official residence on Balfour Street, which has been unused for five years, amount to 103 million shekels between late 2022 and 2026. Of this, 67 million shekels were allocated to security measures and 33 million to physical renovations, which remain incomplete and are expected to finish next year without a final contractor settlement. The office declined to provide details on extensive renovations at the residence on Azza Street in Jerusalem and properties on HaPoretz and in Caesarea. Regarding the Caesarea residence damaged by a drone, it was stated that no work was done on the building itself, and external security work remains classified; a damaged security wall was removed but not replaced due to other ongoing security projects.

In contrast to the opacity surrounding Netanyahu’s expenses, the office provided detailed cost breakdowns for previous tenures. Bennett’s home in Ra’anana underwent minor repairs totaling just 71,825 shekels, including painting, plastering, parking repairs, and plumbing adjustments. Lapid’s Tel Aviv residence saw a single expense of 19,305 shekels for an acoustic wall around a generator. Netanyahu’s alternative apartment at "Balfour 2" had minor work in 2025 costing 6,000 shekels for drywall, door installation, and painting.

Regarding the construction of the new Prime Minister’s residence and office complex at the Government Complex, the canceled "Almog Project" incurred 14,000 shekels in 2015 and 3.1 million shekels in 2016 for planning and zoning. The ongoing "Shira Project" has commitments of 37.5 million shekels for planning from the Defense Ministry, but no payments for execution have yet been made.

Kobi Eisen, chairman of the petitioning association, criticized the Prime Minister’s Office for providing selective and biased data to conceal the incumbent PM’s expenses. He highlighted the unreasonable situation of the state simultaneously advancing four different residential projects for the Prime Minister and investing hundreds of millions in securing his private properties. Eisen announced plans to file a substantive petition demanding full disclosure before the upcoming elections.