‘Endangered state security’: PM sent warning letter by state commission of inquiry into ‘submarine affair’

Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu touring the INS Tanin submarine, built by the German firm Thyssenkrupp, as it arrived in Israel on September 23, 2014. (Kobi Gideon/GPO/Flash90)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu touring the INS Tanin submarine, built by the German firm Thyssenkrupp, as it arrived in Israel on September 23, 2014. (Kobi Gideon/GPO/Flash90)

A state commission of inquiry investigating the so-called submarine affair has announced it sent warning notices to five individuals it believes may be harmed by its probe, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former naval commander Admiral Ram Rothberg, in order to allow them to submit additional testimony and view evidence relating to their conduct. Netanyahu is accused of “endangering the state’s security and harming Israel’s foreign relations.”

According to an 11-page statement released by the commission, Netanyahu made decisions with “significant implications for security” without an orderly decision-making process, bypassed his own government in order to come to agreements with Germany on a series of political, security and economic issues, and made defense purchases “without orderly staff work [while] deviating from the operation needs established by the government.”

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 endangering the state’s security and harming Israel’s foreign relations,” the commission states.

In addition to Netanyahu and Rothberg, former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon, former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen and former National Security Council employee Avner Simchoni were also warned by the commission.

The commission of inquiry, formed under former premier Naftali Bennett in 2022, has spent more than two years probing submarine and naval vessel purchases that occurred under a previous Netanyahu government.

Israel purchased the vessels from German shipbuilder Thyssenkrupp in a murky $2 billion deal that has been under scrutiny for possible corruption and bribery.

While Netanyahu is reportedly not considered a suspect, he has given testimony to the police in connection with the deal, and several of his close associates were indicted and convicted for their involvement in the negotiations.

In a statement on behalf of Netanyahu, the Prime Minister’s Office states that “the submarines are a central pillar of Israel’s national security and in ensuring its existence against Iran, which is trying to destroy us.

“Not only does the acquisition of the submarines not harm the security of the state – it ensures its existence,” it says, adding that “history will prove that Prime Minister Netanyahu was right on this issue as well and made the right decisions for the security of Israel.”

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