Netanyahu spent more than $6 million on overseas trips in 2023, figures show

After nonprofits successfully push for release of expense figures, PM says all costs were approved by relevant accounting teams in accordance with the law

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spent $6,275,421 of taxpayer money on overseas trips in 2023, according to information released Sunday following a lawsuit filed by the Freedom of Information Movement and the economic regulation group Hatzlacha.

According to the details, Netanyahu traveled with his wife Sara and an entourage of between 25 to 36 people on a series of official trips to Paris, Rome, Berlin and London, as well as a trip to the US that saw him make stops in New York and San Francisco.

On his trip to Rome last year, the prime minister stayed in a suite at the Hilton Hotel that cost $5,041 a night — the highest cost-per-night of any of his trips, and more than any expense charged by Naftali Bennett or Yair Lapid when either of them was prime minister, according to Channel 12 news.

That three-day trip — during which Netanyahu met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and addressed a group of Italian entrepreneurs, and which also fell on the Netanyahus’ wedding anniversary — cost some $500,000 overall.

The most expensive trip was Netanyahu’s visit to the US, when the prime minister, traveling with an entourage of 33, spent a week in the country, running a bill of more than $3.3 million.

There was no breakdown on the makeup of the costs.

In comparison, former prime minister Naftali Bennett spent some $4.8 million on trips in 2021-2022, according to Channel 12.

In response to the release, Netanyahu’s office said the costs revealed on Sunday included the flights and hotel stays for the delegation and security teams and were all approved in accordance with the law by the relevant accounting teams.

The statement noted that flights had been ordered through a tender and that hotels had been chosen by a professional team in the Foreign Ministry.

The figures released Sunday did not include Netanyahus’ recent visit to the United States, his first trip abroad since war broke out against the Hamas terror group on October 7, 2023, when the group launched a cross-border assault from Gaza, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.

Since last month, the prime minister has been able to use a dedicated aircraft, Israel’s version of Air Force One, rather than chartering a plane from an airline company.