German defense minister hails ‘great friend’ Israel

German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen is in Israel as a guest of her counterpart Moshe Ya’alon.

In a press conference — marking 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries — the German minister says Israel is Germany’s “great friend” in the Middle East.

The German minister claims there is no country in the world that shares the security relations that Germany has with Israel. She adds that the relations with Israel also extend to military cooperation between the Israel Defense Forces and the German military.

Germany is trying, through UNIFIL, to prevent arms from reaching Lebanon, because of Berlin’s concern for the security of Israel.

Addressing the deal with Iran on its nuclear program, von der Leyen states that Berlin has an assessment regarding the future deal different to that of Israel, and that it is “obvious” a deal with Iran will be beneficial for Israel’s security.

Ya’alon says that “the cell that tried to lay an explosive device near the border fence in the Golan Heights last week was operated by Iranians, even as Iran is on a charm offensive, while on the other hand Revolutionary Guards continue to employ terrorism in Yemen, the northern border and other locations.”

Ya’alon adds that the corvettes purchased from Germany to protect Israeli gas rigs are “purely defensive.” The first of these corvettes will be deployed in five years, and another three are due to arrive in the following three years.