A year for the formation of the government - and the renovation work on the house in Balfour is still in the "planning" stages

The official prime minister's residence has been empty since the Netanyahu family left, and despite this, the renovation required by the GSS has not yet begun.

The project was delayed for months due to a labor dispute in the Ministry of Defense, but already a month ago the sanctions were stopped and the renovation has not yet been carried out.

Prime Minister's Office: "The planning phase is intensively promoted"

His dew

16/06/2022

Thursday, 16 June 2022, 10:38 Updated: 10:59

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In the video: Last Saturday of a protest in Balfour (Photo: Roni Knafo)

A year after the formation of the government, the renovation work at the official Prime Minister's residence on Balfour Street has not yet begun and is still in the "planning" phase, and the Prime Minister's Office does not know the deadlines for starting the project.

The house in Balfour has been empty for almost a year, since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his family evacuated it last July, and despite this, the Shin Bet's renovation and protection work on the property has not begun for years. In recent months the project has been delayed The project, but the sanctions ended last month and an examination by Walla! Shows that even now, the actual work has not yet begun and they are still in the planning stage.

More on Walla!

• Bennett's bureau rejects allegations of waste in the Prime Minister's House: "Savings of NIS 2 million a year from the Netanyahu era"

Empty of man.

Entrance to the official residence in Balfour (Photo: Flash 90, Yonatan Zindel)

Even before he took office, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett decided that he and his family would not move to the official Prime Minister's residence on Balfour Street in Jerusalem and would continue to live in their private home in Raanana.

Shortly after taking office, the GSS also asked not to use the official residence until the completion of protection work and security adjustments, which were delayed for years during Netanyahu's rule. The work in Raanana, which is being carried out by a private contractor in a contract with the Prime Minister's Office, has already begun and is progressing.

More on Walla!

High Court criticizes works on Bennett's home in Raanana: "Gloomy picture, dragging feet"

To the full article

"Excuses from different excuses."

The Prime Minister's Residence in Balfour (Photo: Flash 90, Yonatan Zindel)

The renovation project in Balfour suffered a serious delay due to a labor dispute of Ministry of Defense employees, which began in January and lasted about five months during which the works were completely stopped.

At the same time, last month Ministry of Defense employees announced the cessation of sanctions, and the renovation has not yet begun.

The Prime Minister's Office said in response to Walla!'S request that in light of the end of the sanctions in the Ministry of Defense, the project returned to the "planning" phase, which "the project is currently being intensively promoted by the Ministry of Defense and accompanied by the Prime Minister's Office." Journalist Ayala Hasson, who has been devoutly covering the renovations in the prime minister's residence

for

the past year, also revealed that in light of the ongoing work, the prime minister's office even defined the house in Raanana as an official residence instead of in Balfour.

Defined as an official residence.

Bennett's home in Raanana (Photo: Dror Einav)

Last April, High Court judges criticized the delay in the renovation in Balfour and claimed that it was an "inappropriate and improper situation" and the delays were justified "with excuses from various excuses." During the

hearings

in the petition, it became clear that the work in Raanana was done without prior planning approval, and the judges were also harshly critical of it. "We are done without a deliberate hand and while being dragged along, which is not clear," the ruling said.

"Complex project"

The Prime Minister's Office responded that "this is a security protection project that is accompanied by safety and maintenance solutions in the property. Indeed, the Ministry of Defense strike did not allow the project to be promoted. "Many factors in the fields of security, technology, protection, preservation and licensing, in front of them, the various processes have been intensively restarted, in order to accelerate the process as much as possible."

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• Political-political

Tags

• Naftali Bennett

• The Prime Minister's Residence

• Balfour

• Ministry of Defence