Netanyahu warned by Israeli inquiry commission over German submarine deal irregularities

JERUSALEM

A commission investigating irregularities in a German submarine deal has warned several current and former Israeli officials, who may be adversely impacted by its findings, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to Israeli media on Monday.

The submarine deal, under scrutiny, spans from 2009 to 2016, during which Israel purchased submarines from Germany. The investigation is examining suspicions of irregularities in the transaction.

“A state commission of inquiry investigating the so-called submarine affair has announced it is sending warning notices to five individuals it believes may be harmed by its probe,” The Times of Israel newspaper said.

The officials warned included Netanyahu, former Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, former Mossad Chief Yossi Cohen, former Navy Commander Ram Rothberg, and former National Security Council employee Avner Simchoni.

The commission accused Netanyahu of “making decisions with significant implications for security without an orderly decision-making process," bypassing his government to come to agreements with Germany on a series of political, security and economic issues, and making defense purchases “without orderly staff work [while] deviating from the operation needs established by the government,” the daily added.

“Netanyahu additionally excluded relevant security bodies from the decision-making process when dealing with sensitive political-security questions, avoided documenting meetings and created parallel and conflicting channels of action, thereby risking the state’s security and harming Israel’s foreign relations,” it said.

According to Haaretz newspaper, the probe panel said that Netanyahu’s conduct “caused serious and systematic disruption of work processes and force building, and harmed the decision-making mechanisms in a series of sensitive issues, thereby jeopardizing the national security and harming the foreign relations and economic interests of the State of Israel.”

The submarine affair involves two arms deals between Israel and the German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. In the first deal, Israel purchased three submarines worth 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion). In the second, Israel bought missile ships, valued at 430 million euros (about $481 million), for the purpose of protecting Israel's offshore natural gas platform.

In December 2019, the Attorney General's office filed charges against close associates of Netanyahu in the same case, although the Israeli prime minister himself was not named as a suspect.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio