The next Israeli prime minister will be the first in the state’s history to have a personal plane, a remodeled Boeing 767. Six years after a decision was made on the matter, the plane will finally take off, but with considerable turbulence. In a country rife with scandals, the story of the Israeli Air Force One deserves a place of honor. The state comptroller has already ordered his office to look into the matter. 

Until 2001 Israeli heads of state flew abroad on an air force Boeing 707. Over the years, the plane aged and the prime minister’s office started to lease civilian planes on a public tender (El Al usually won) according to a predetermined budget. In December 2013 a committee headed by former High Court justice and former state comptroller Eliezer Goldberg examined dedicating a plane to the prime minister and the president. In April 2014, the committee recommended that a plane be purchased for reasons of security and National Security Council head Yossi Cohen recommended that the state spend 175 million shekels ($48 million) to purchase a used plane.

But since then, the price of such an aircraft has skyrocketed. In summer 2016, it rose to 220 million shekels ($60 million). Later, at Netanyahu’s request and in a decision not released to the public, the cabinet authorized 360 million shekels ($99 million) for the project. In November 2018, a representative of the prime minister’s office admitted to the Knesset’s finance committee that the real price was actually 580 million shekels ($160 million). In December, Calcalist published an official document that showed that already in 2015, the cabinet, whose meetings are confidential, had authorized a sum of 729 million shekels ($201 million) for the project.

The problems don't stop there. The plane landed in Israel in 2016 and was supposed to be ready within a year. According to informed sources, it will finally take off in the second part of 2019, almost three years after work started to remodel and refit it for the needs of the prime minister. The delay itself has heavy financial ramifications that are not included in the sums above.