Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that the government’s decision to accelerate the construction of an AI server farm is integral to preserving Israel’s “enormous power advantages on a global level.”
The Cabinet’s decision “is a major move because ultimately, leadership in artificial intelligence—and in my opinion, also in quantum—will be decisive in continuing to strengthen our power,” Netanyahu said at a government meeting in Jerusalem.
“We must have this because we are a small and threatened country. Small in population and small in territory, but immense in spirit and in action,” the premier stated, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
Energy and Infrastructure Minister Eli Cohen commended the move, saying it will “remove barriers and accelerate processes for building data centers, which is a vital step in Israel’s path to becoming a global artificial intelligence powerhouse.”
He added that construction for data centers with a total capacity of one gigawatt has already begun, noting that this amounts to “more than five percent of Israel’s total energy consumption in just the past three months, and this is only the beginning.”
The PMO cited Cohen as saying the centers will create thousands of jobs and bring billions of dollars into the state treasury, as well as attract hundreds of international companies seeking to operate in Israel due to its attractive energy prices.
“At the same time, we are working to expand energy infrastructure. Our original plan was to build two power stations by the end of the decade—we will double the number of power stations under construction, both those based on natural gas and those based on renewable energy,” Cohen said.
Netanyahu linked the Jewish state’s economic power with its military strength.
“This state is a small country—it needs to have immense power. Both militarily and in terms of the ability to project power, which means the ability to deploy your forces and even maintain a presence in the region. We will discuss this separately regarding the new security doctrine that I will present to you in the coming days.”
In May, Netanyahu convened the inaugural meeting of the newly established Nagel Committee, tasked with formulating national-level strategies to accelerate the development of artificial intelligence in Israel.
The committee, chaired by Brig. Gen. (res.) Yaakov Nagel, brings together leading experts from the defense, academic and technological sectors, including Col. (res.) Ryan Giti, Prof. Shmuel Peleg, Lt. Col. (res.) Eti Ben Ze’ev, Brig. Gen. (res.) Omer Dagan and Prof. Sarit Kraus.
The panel was given a mandate to draft a national AI acceleration strategy and recommend the creation of a new coordinating body under the Prime Minister’s Office.
