Politicians cheer as newest submarine arrives

The fifth member of Israel’s burgeoning submarine fleet, the INS Rahav, has arrived at the port of Haifa, feted with a brass-studded celebration.

At the ceremony, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the INS Rahav, which according to foreign reports is nuclear capable, will be a key part of the country’s strategy of defensive deterrence.

“Above all else, our submarine fleet acts as a deterrent to our enemies who want to destroy us. They won’t achieve their aims,” he says. “They need to know that Israel can hit, with great might, anyone who tries to harm it.”

The prime minister adds that Israel is fighting threats in the air, on the ground, under the ground, in cyberspace, in outer space, and underwater.”

Soldiers aboard the newly arrived INS Rahav at a Haifa naval base on January 12, 2016. (IDF Spokesperson)

President Reuven Rivlin, also at the ceremony, says the sub will be an important part of fighting the country’s future wars.

“In the decades to come, the INS Rahav will take an active part in defending the country and its maritime territory, by acting deeper, further and longer underwater,” he says. “Seeing without being seen. Keeping a watchful eye and projecting our operational abilities on the naval front.”