Report: Netanyahus want state to continue funding home improvements even if PM leaves office

Channel 13 says request could cost tens of millions of shekels; heads of PM’s office reportedly advancing appeal on Sara Netanyahu’s behalf

By ToI Staff and Ethan Rubinson Today, 10:21 am

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara speak with members of the public in the city of Beit Shemesh, just hours before polls close on Israel’s general election day, October 27, 2026. (Yaakov Lederman/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s family is seeking tens of millions of shekels in state-funded security and renovation work at their private residences even if Netanyahu leaves office, Channel 13 reported Wednesday.

According to the report, the family made an urgent appeal to the ministerial committee responsible for Shin Bet affairs, asking that work begun at the properties in recent years not be halted if Netanyahu is no longer prime minister.

Sources familiar with the matter told Channel 13 that Prime Minister’s Office Chief of Staff Ido Norden and Deputy Director-General Dorit Steinmetz were advancing the request on behalf of Sara Netanyahu. Channel 13 estimated that granting it would cost the state tens of millions of shekels.

The Prime Minister’s Office did not respond to the report.

State spending on Netanyahu’s residences has repeatedly drawn scrutiny. Data released following a freedom of information request showed that the state spent more than NIS 2.7 million ($880,000) on Netanyahu’s three residences during 2025 and the first half of 2026, including on staff, renovations, landscaping and food expenses.

Netanyahu and his wife primarily used their private homes on Jerusalem’s Azza Street and in Caesarea, while the official Balfour Street residence underwent extensive renovations.

Yair Netanyahu (left) and Sara Netanyahu listen to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu deliver a speech at the 80th session of The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 26, 2025, in New York City. (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images/AFP)

Security work at the Caesarea home has also previously carried a multimillion-shekel price tag. After a Hezbollah drone struck the property in October 2024, the Prime Minister’s Office sought NIS 2 million ($630,000) for additional security work, while separate estimates placed the total cost of the upgrades at NIS 3-8 million ($940,000 to $2.5 million).