Benjamin Netanyahu in Congress
Photo: AFP
Netanyahu's Congress trip cost NIS 6 million
Finance Ministry committee approved NIS 9.3 million for travel in March, including NIS 7.2 million for prime minister and his entourage.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's trip to Washington in early March to address a joint session of Congress on Iran not only cost Israel in terms of its relationship with the White House, but also NIS 6 million of taxpayers' money, according to a new report by the accountant general at the Finance Ministry.
For the whole of March, government ministries were authorized to spend a combined total of NIS 9.3 million on travel expenses. This included NIS 7.2 million for the prime minister and his entourage.
Netanyahu addressing the joint session of Congress (Photo: AFP)
In contrast, Netanyahu's trip to the ceremony commemorating the victims of the terror attacks in France cost NIS 1.2 million.
The government has worked without an approved budget since the beginning of 2015, because of the early election. Until the new government is formed and a budget approved, every ministry is allocated funds equaling one-twelfth of last year's budget. These funds are meant only for regular and essential expenses only.
Funds that are not regular or recurring, such as international trips, are approved by the Exceptions Committee.
It emerged soon after Netanyahu's trip to the US capital that the cost of his flight was NIS 4.6 million ($1.57 million). The sum was paid by the state to El Al, which won the tender announced by the Prime Minister's Office.
The plane was outfitted with a bedroom for Netanyahu and his wife.
