Israel's Cabinet approved the construction of a new official prime minister's residence in Jerusalem on Sunday, a "national complex" which will include the leader's residence, as well as offices and conference rooms, and new venues for the Supreme Court and Knesset.
During its last meeting before elections on Tuesday, the Cabinet approved the NIS 650 million budget necessary to complete construction on the "space design" complex, which is in the final stages of design, and which is expected to be ready for use in several years.
Four ministers opposed the project – Education Minister Yuli Tamir, Finance Minister Roni Bar-On, Environment Minister Gideon Ezra, and Minister of Negev and Galilee Development Yaakov Edry. They contended that the money should be used for other purposes, such as the building of classrooms or the funding of active government bureaus.
Proponents of the plan said money would be saved on renting office space and securely conveying the prime minister from his residence to his office.
Funding for the project, which currently has no specified groundbreaking date, will be spread out over 20 years.