Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a last minute decision not to participate in a memorial service for the late South African President Nelson Mandela, despite having notified the South African government that he would attend the event.

The decision was made in light of the high transportation costs resulting from the short notice of the trip and the security required for the prime minister in Johannesburg. The Prime Minister’s Office found that the trip would have cost roughly 7 million shekels ($1.9 million) – of which 2.8 million shekels (about $800,000) for chartering a private El Al plane and another 3.2 million shekels (about $910,000) for transporting security equipment and personnel on an Israeli Air Force plane, in addition to other costs.

[link to www.haaretz.com]