Breaking Update
PM Netanyahu at today’s Government meeting, on the Government decision to accelerate building an ai server farm
Prime Minister Netanyahu announced an accelerated plan to build an AI server farm, crucial for Israel's military and global power advantages.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Energy and Infrastructure Minister Eli Cohen, today (Sunday, 22 February 2026), at the Government meeting, on the Government decision to accelerate building an AI server farm [all remarks translated from Hebrew]:
Prime Minister Netanyahu:
“There is great news here and a major move: A major move because, ultimately, leadership in Artificial Intelligence (AI), and in my opinion, in quantum as well, will be a decisive factor in the continued cultivation of our power. This is a small country; it needs to possess immense power. This applies both militarily and in the ability to project power, which is the ability to move your forces. I am talking about moving military forces across the space and even the presence of your forces within that space. We will hold a separate discussion regarding the new security concept that I will present to you in the coming days. But that is one aspect.
However, it is not just about projecting or building power; it is also about gaining immense power advantages on a global scale. We must do this because we are a small and threatened country: Small in population and small in territory, but huge in spirit and in action. And we will do it. Therefore, this is an integral part of this vision. I thank you, Minister Eli Cohen, and all of you.”
Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Cohen:
“Today, we are introducing a decision that will remove barriers and accelerate the processes for building data centers, which is a vital step on Israel‘s path to becoming a global AI superpower. The State of Israel enjoys excellent human capital and hundreds of international companies operating within its borders. We sit at an international communications crossroads, offer very attractive energy prices, and today we are adding another tier: Removing barriers to accelerate the planning and construction procedures for server farms.
In the last three months alone, planning and establishment procedures have begun for data centers with a capacity of 1 Giga. Just to give some perspective, this represents more than 5% of the State of Israel‘s energy consumption initiated in just the last three months, and there is more to come. These centers will create thousands of jobs, bring billions of dollars into the state treasury, and we will act here to assist them so they can be established quickly.
Concurrently, we are working to increase the construction of energy facilities. Our original plan was to build two power plants by the end of the decade; we will double the number of power plants under construction, including both those based on gas and those based on renewable energy.”
