A-G to look into PM’s submarine deal, but nixes criminal probe

Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit has ordered his office to look into a multi-billion shekel deal to purchase German submarines amid reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s personal lawyer represented the German shipbuilder selling Israel the vessels.

Mandelblit was having his office examine the circumstances surrounding the deal, but emphasized that there is no evidence at this stage that would warrant police involvement in the investigation, according to Hebrew media reports on Sunday night.

The move came hours after Netanyahu denied allegations that personal interests played a role in the deal, saying bolstering Israel’s long-term security needs was his “only consideration” for the purchases of the advanced weaponry.

Last Tuesday, Channel 10 reported the prime minister’s longtime attorney David Shimron had a stake in the NIS 6 billion ($1.5 billion) defense deal with the German shipbuilder.

According to the report, Shimron serves as a local representative of the Germany-based conglomerate ThyssenKrupp, and Netanyahu in recent months has been pushing for Israel to buy several ThyssenKrupp submarines against the will of the IDF and former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon.

Channel 2 reported on Sunday that Shimron has voluntarily undergone a polygraph test to prove that Netanyahu was in no way connected to the deal.

In the exam, Shimron was asked whether he had ever discussed the submarine deal with Netanyahu, told him of his connections with German shipyards, or discussed the maintenance of the vessels. Shimron replied “no” to all of the questions.

A copy of the report provided to Channel 2 found he was telling the truth. However, such a test is inadmissible as evidence in the Israeli justice system.

Shimron has repeatedly denied a conflict of interest, saying he “did not discuss these matters with the prime minister,” and said he made no effort to influence a decision over the deal.

The prime minister has also repeatedly denied any wrongdoing or conflict of interest amid the tangle of claims and counter-claims by former and current defense officials over whether the submarines were actually necessary.

“The security of Israel necessitates the purchase of new submarines, and the renewal of the naval fleet,” Netanyahu said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting Sunday.

“These strategic weapons systems guarantee [the navy’s] future, and I assure you, will safeguard the existence of Israel for the coming decades,” he said. “Strengthening the security of Israel was my only consideration in deciding to purchase the submarine. It is the consideration that always guides me and no other.”

Over the weekend, opposition MKs demanded an official investigation be launched to review the allegations.

On Saturday, Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid called on Mandelblit to open a criminal investigation into the Netanyahu-backed deal, while Meretz’s Michal Rozin urged the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee to hold an “urgent” hearing to review the matter.

Ya’alon last week also urged a “thorough probe by the relevant authorities” into the “very disturbing” allegations made in the report.

Last month, Netanyahu announced in a cabinet meeting that Israel was in the process of negotiating the purchase of three new submarines for the Israeli Navy, which currently maintains a fleet of five underwater vessels, with another slated to be delivered in coming years.

The new submarines were intended as replacements for the military’s older models.

But according to Channel 10, neither Ya’alon, who served as defense minister when the deal was first proposed, nor the IDF was in favor of purchasing the new submarines — somewhat of a change of pace in the normal narrative of the defense establishment fighting for acquisitions — as the decision did not fit with the Defense Ministry’s multi-year plan for the army.

Shimron’s alleged involvement has raised questions about a possible conflict of interest for both him and the prime minister, especially given Netanyahu’s determination to complete the deal despite the reported IDF opposition.

Netanyahu is said to have started dealings with the German government without informing Ya’alon, who only learned of the plan after news of it leaked out.

Apparently furious, the then-defense minister sparred with Netanyahu in the Prime Minister’s Office, with the two reportedly shouting at one another over the issue.

Ya’alon succeeded in torpedoing the plan at that time, but once he stepped down as defense minister in May, Netanyahu renewed the negotiations with the Germans for the new submarines.