Google openning a second research center in Israel

According to this, Google is opening an R&D center in Israel in the Tel Aviv area.

This is the second center, the first one opened in Haifa.

Microsoft has a research center in Haifa from 1991 and it was published in the Israeli press (sorry, I couldn’t find an English reference for this) that they are planning to open another research center in the Tel Aviv area.

The only company now from the big GYM (Google, Yahoo, Microsoft) that doesn’t have an R&D presence here in Israel is Yahoo.

What are they waiting for? Perhaps they don’t view Israel as an important part of their R&D strategy (unlike Microsoft and Google).