Air Force One on the ground. Photo: wiki commons.

An inter-ministerial committee on May 17 recommended that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres be afforded their own special airplane, Israel Hayom reported. Netanyahu, who established the committee in 2009 just after he was elected to the post of prime minister, is said to have accepted the recommendation.

Among other things, the committee considered the plane’s cost and security issues. Israel’s prime ministers have up to now contracted aircraft from El Al, the country’s flag carrier, and Arkia, a smaller private carrier, for internal flights and flights out of the country.

According to data provided by the Prime Minister’s Office, a special aircraft would cost more than $30 million, the equivalent to the cost of flights for the prime minister and president over a period of two years. The aircraft would obviously be in use for more than two years, making it more of a long-term investment.