Israel Considers Buying Its Own 'Air Force One'

A week after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly chose to miss Nelson Mandela's memorial service because of travel costs, Israeli ministers voted Sunday to consider buying an Israeli equivalent of "Air Force One."

They approved creating a committee to consider buying a plane for the premier and president, "as is customary in many other countries," a government statement said, floating the possibility of a shared aircraft for Netanyahu and globe-trotting President Shimon Peres.

The most famous official jet is commonly known as Air Force One, which is actually the call sign for whatever official aircraft the U.S. president uses.

"Currently, planes are chartered from commercial companies, the cost of which frequently runs into millions of shekels (hundreds of thousands of dollars/euros) per trip," the statement said.

Last week, media reported that Netanyahu cancelled plans to fly to Johannesburg for the Mandela memorial -- attended by nearly 100 world leaders -- over projected costs of around seven million shekels for transport and security.

Netanyahu has been criticized and ridiculed over his spending, including a double bed installed on the plane that flew him to London in April for the funeral of Britain's Margaret Thatcher on a trip that cost $127,000 (98,000 euros).

In March, he was deeply embarrassed by reports that his family enjoyed a state-funded 10,000-shekel ($2,740/2,000 euro) ice cream allowance, prompting him to cancel it hurriedly.

And in May, Haaretz daily reported that taxpayers paid 318,000 shekels last year for upkeep of Netanyahu's private seaside home, including 85,000 shekels for water to fill a swimming pool.