Dalia Itzik's costly Paris escapade

Former Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik spent NIS 75,000 of the taxpayers' money on a four-night stay in a luxury suite in a Paris hotel three years ago, Channel 2 television reported Tuesday.

According to the report, Itzik arrived in Paris on December 2006 to attend a conference held by the local Jewish community. The Paris ambassador made reservation for her at the Park Hyatt hotel in the French capital – which charges €750 a night, but the Knesset speaker claimed the room was too small and demanded a change.

The Foreign Ministry explained at the time that changing the hotel reservation would include a substantial cancellation fee, but Itzik demanded she be moved to a different hotel nonetheless.

Reservations were then made at the Hotel Le Bristol – where a simple suite costs some €1,300 a night. That still failed to satisfy Itzik, who ended up choosing a €1,995-a night suite – a sum roughly equivalent to NIS 11,000 a night.

Between the cancellation fee at Park Hyatt and the new suite at Le Bristol, Itzik's trip to Paris cost NIS 75,000.

A source familiar with the details said that, "Upon Mrs. Itzik's arrival in Paris she learned that an error was made with her hotel reservations at the Park Hyatt hotel and that the room booked for her did not include a separate lounge area, meaning it did not meet the demands of her security detail.

"Since the room failed to meet security needs, it was deemed impossible to hold meetings in it. The Park Hyatt was unable to provide alternative accommodations and so Mrs. Itzik and her staff were moved to Le Bristol.

"Presenting the matter as if it was her that asked to supposedly 'upgrade' her accommodations is unfair," the source said.