Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private apartment on Azza Street in Jerusalem has become the official residence of the prime minister as renovations continue at the Balfour Street residence that served him in the past, less than one kilometer away.
Netanyahu’s private residence is at 35 Azza St., and while the building is well known and can be photographed, it is blurred on Google Maps.
Netanyahu has lived there for the last few decades in addition to a second home he owns in Caesarea.
Residents on Azza Street have expressed concern in recent days over the possibility that the street – one of the main arteries in Jerusalem leading to the center of the city – will become clogged and impossible to drive or walk on. In the two years leading up to his removal from office in 2021, there were regular protests outside the Balfour residence.
The residence on Balfour is inaccessible due to renovations that began after Netanyahu vacated the home when he was replaced as prime minister in June 2021 by Naftali Bennett, who remained in his private home in Ra’anana to the angst of his neighbors who suffered from the strict security measures.
Unit 730 of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), which is responsible for the security of the prime minister, demanded significant upgrades to Bennett’s street in Ra’anana, leading to false media reports – including some spread by the Likud – that he had used NIS 50 million in state funds to renovate his home. While the reports were not true, they were regularly circulated by opposition politicians.
