The State Attorney’s Office this evening (Thursday) submitted its answer to the High Court regarding the status of the Prime Minister’s home, Naftali Bennett, in Raanana, during the renovations at the Prime Minister’s residence on Balfour Street in Jerusalem.
“The respondents’ position is that the residence in Raanana is not an official residence for the purpose of holding demonstrations there, but is still a private house used by the prime minister and his family in the circumstances that were created,” the reply said.
It added: “In the circumstances that have arisen, the full services necessary for the performance of his duties and his residence and the residence of his family must be provided for him at this time, and he and his family must be given all the rights of the prime minister in his official residence.”
Maariv commentator Ben Caspit analyzed the state’s response on his Twitter page:
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“In June 2021, the Speaker of the Prime Minister’s Office stated that as long as the Prime Minister is unable to move to the official residence in Balfour, the Ministry must provide and finance the Prime Minister’s full residence in the private residence.” The services needed to carry out his duties and his residence and the residence of his family, and to give him and his family all the rights of the Prime Minister in his official residence, along with the recognition that at the end of the day, the residence in Raanana is the Prime Minister’s private residence. Works that can be an improvement on the private home. “
The state’s response detailed the circumstances that forced Bennett to live in Raanana at the current stage. The document shows, among other things, that not only the GSS determined that urgent work was needed at the official residence in Balfour, but also the head of the security department in the Prime Minister’s Office, Alon Halwa, who was appointed during the previous prime minister and is considered particularly close to Mrs. Netanyahu.
Halva, it turns out, was a significant factor in the decision-making process. “In recent years, the Security Department of the Prime Minister’s Office, as well as the General Security Service, have raised a security need to make significant changes to the Prime Minister’s residence on Balfour Street in Jerusalem. “Promoted in accordance with the guidelines and requirements of the General Security Service,” it was written.
“On June 22, 2121, while the former Prime Minister and his family are still living in the official residence on Balfour Street, the head of the Defense and Emergency Department in the Prime Minister’s Office, Mr. Alon Halva, informed the incoming Chief of Staff, Tal Gan Zvi, that his position is urgent. “Before the prime minister entered the official residence, and this, among other things, even after clarifying the need with the General Security Service,” they noted.
These circumstances led, according to the state’s response, to the creation of a “unique situation” that led to the opinion of the attorney general in the ministry, approved by attorney general Mandelblit, that would allow a suitable work environment to be established at the Bennett family home in Raanana for the prime minister. This situation is defined as a “temporary solution”. The State’s response stated that “due to an error, this opinion was not forwarded to the High Court Department and therefore was not addressed in this petition, the State” regretted “the above misunderstanding. This means that the State’s previous response to the High Court was incorrect. Because she was not aware of what was stated in the opinion of the ombudsmen regarding the status and location of the Prime Minister’s House.
The state response said that “the opinion was given about two weeks after the prime minister took office. Shortly after it was written, the prime minister expressed his desire to move to the official residence in Balfour according to his work needs and daily routine, while his family would continue living in his private residence in Raanana. The prime minister was told that before entering the official residence, the security work must be carried out. “
The state further states that the accommodations at the official residence in Jerusalem are delayed for reasons that are not dependent on it. “In practice, and although the Prime Minister’s Office was set up to carry out the work,” it said in response, “in view of sanctions and a strike by those responsible for managing the project at the Ministry of Defense starting in 2022, a real delay has occurred.” The state states that many factors are involved in the project, given the fact that it is a conservation building that requires a special architect and the active participation of the GSS and other security agencies.
The State notes that “in view of the continuing strike of the said Ministry of Defense employees, various alternatives for promoting the project are currently being considered in the Prime Minister’s Office in order to bring it to fruition as soon as possible.” The document further emphasized that “in accordance with the position of the security forces, the existing security gaps in the official residence in Jerusalem do not allow the prime minister to live, and there is a security necessity to address a number of security and security risks that require treatment prior to occupying the residence.”
Regarding the center in Raanana, it was written: “It should be emphasized that the construction on the site was carried out for the sake of the prime minister’s security, under the guidance of the GSS and on the basis of professional security considerations, and taking into account aspects related to costs and reducing harm to neighbors Security arrangements have also been made in the private homes of previous prime ministers, based on an assessment of the threat and other relevant circumstances, and in any case it will be emphasized and clarified that the Prime Minister was not involved in initiating construction on the site. Therefore, “the state claims,” the matter of the classification of the house, which, as stated, does not in any case constitute an official residence such as the residence in Jerusalem, has no relevance to the remedies requested. “
The answer means that the prime minister has nothing to do with decisions regarding work in Raanana or Balfour, made at the request of the GSS and the ministry’s chief (Netanyahu’s appointment) Alon Halwa. The official prime minister’s residence was and remains in Jerusalem, while the residence in Raanana was declared temporary The work of the Prime Minister from the place. There is a misunderstanding between the High Court Department and the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ombudsman. By the way, this is the embarrassing part of the reaction, when it turns out that one hand does not know where the other hand is.