Israel's PM Office discloses cost of medical teams on Netanyahu's trips

Israel's Prime Minister's Office revealed the cost of medical teams accompanying Benjamin Netanyahu on overseas trips since 2023, totaling hundreds of thousands of shekels. The data was released in response to a Freedom of Information request.

The Prime Minister's Office has for the first time disclosed the cost of the medical team accompanying Benjamin Netanyahu on his trips abroad since 2023. According to data received in response to a request from the Freedom of Information Movement, the office paid approximately 386,000 shekels for 14 trips of four doctors and a pacemaker technician. The amount includes 333,000 shekels for engagement and expenses (meals, accommodation, and lodging) and another 53,000 shekels for flights. The team is headed by Dr. Herman Berkowitz, whose engagement cost is 30,000 shekels per year plus VAT. Accompanying him were cardiologists Dr. Zvi Sirotkin and Dr. Eyal Heller, urologist Dr. Mordechai Duvdevani, and pacemaker technician Chen Kavsa. The most expensive year was 2025, with an expenditure of about 170,000 shekels. For comparison, the cost of the doctor for Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid during the change government was only 21,000 shekels. The director of the Freedom of Information Movement, attorney Hidi Negev, stated that Netanyahu has passed the age of 77 and there is ambiguity regarding his medical condition, and called for the publication of an independent fitness declaration.