The tax payer spent some NIS 31.5 million ($8.5 million) on Shin Bet protection for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife and two sons between 2018 and 2023, according to newly published information.
The details were released following a freedom of information request from a civil society organization, Hatzlaha: The Movement for the Promotion of a Fair Society.
According to the data, the Shin Bet spent NIS 11 million guarding Avner Netanyahu, NIS 10 million on Yair Netanyahu and 10.5 million protecting Netanyahu’s wife Sara.
The information also shows that during the year-long Bennett-Lapid government, it cost NIS 3 million to protect Bennett’s children and NIS 4 million to safeguard his wife Gilat.
Netanyahu has come under criticism for insisting that his adult children continue to receive Shin Bet protection. His son Yair has also continued to receive protection since moving to Miami in the US last year.
According to the data, the Shin Bet spent over NIS 1 million protecting Yair last year.
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