The Knesset Finance Committee temporarily held up three million shekels for the President's Residence, Monday. The allocation was presented by the Treasury as a reinforcement of the budget for the President's Residence, with 2.7 million shekels going toward President Shimon Peres's recent trip to Vietnam.
During discussion of the allocation, Committee Chairman Moshe Gafni said, "Bringingthe budgetrequestas one piecewhile emphasizingthe tripto Vietnamdoes an injusticeto the president,who represents the state with honor." Gafni demanded that the Finance Ministry provide a complete breakdown of expenses for the flight.