Refuting PM’s account, AG says Netanyahu never divulged intelligence on sub deal

Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered to divulge confidential information about the sale of German submarines to Egypt, but the revelation was ruled unnecessary and no such intelligence was ultimately shared.

The statement from Mandeblit contradicts Netanyahu’s account on Saturday, when the prime minister told Channel 12 that the attorney general and his staff were apprised of the sensitive information on Berlin’s sale of the weaponry to Egypt.

Germany does not require Israeli approval for such a sale but had requested it nonetheless, due to the two nations’ special relationship, according to an adviser to Chancellor Angela Merkel. Addressing the sale to Egypt for the first time on Saturday, Netanyahu told Channel 12 “they [Germany] don’t need my permission, but I didn’t wrinkle my nose… but I can’t say why.”