Israel may lose German sub deal
Israel may lose German sub deal – Israel News, Ynetnews.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s frustration over new east Jerusalem housing plans may jeopardize Israel’s chances of getting new Dolphin class submarine
Shimon Shiffer
Germany is “reconsidering” its decision to sell Israel a sixth Dolphin class submarine, Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Wednesday.
According to the report, the move was prompted by the tensions between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Merkel’s frustration over the new housing plans approved in east Jerusalem.
Top political sources said that Merkel was irked with Netanyahu, who “gave her the impression that he would be willing to suspend settlement expansion in order to push the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.”
Israel’s recent approval of 1,100 housing units in the Gilo neighborhood in Jerusalem led Merkel to announce that Netanyahu “cannot be taken seriously and has no intention of complying with the basic terms needed to renew the negotiations with the Palestinian.”
Merkel and Netanyahu shared strident words following the decisions, and relations between Jerusalem and Berlin have been strained since.
Disconcerting trend
Defense officials expressed concern over Berlin’s intention to suspend and possibly cancel the submarine sale: According to foreign media reports, the new Dolphin was slated to join Israel strategic fleet.
Earlier in 2011, Germany announced that it would grant Israel a €135 million aid package to build its sixth submarine. German funding has been a significant part in the creation of the Israeli Navy’s submarine crops.
The Navy currently has three Dolphin class submarines, and is expected to receive two new ones, currently under construction in Germany. According to foreign media sources, the new submarines will be equipped to carry nuclear warheads.
The deal was originally approved by former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, despite initial concerns that such ballistic capabilities may upset the nuclear balance in the region.
Senior defense officials refused to comment directly, saying only that “The subject of the sixth submarine is currently being negotiation between the (Israeli and German) governments. It is inappropriate to hash the matter out in the media.”
The Prime Minister’s Office was unavailable for comment.
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WarSclerotic 
October 26, 2011 at 11:55 AM
The Germans are the last people who should be lecturing the Jews on morality! By denying the Israelis the sixth submarine they are presumably trying to finish Hitler’s work and speed the next Jewish holocaust when Iran attempts to wipe the Jewish State off the map. Naziism is obviously not dead, but is alive and well in the German government who are trying to disarm the Jews while their enemies build the Iranian atom bomb that is aimed at Tel Aviv. Germany singlehandedly triggered the two World Wars and I am sure that nothing would please “The Master Race” more than to cause the third by encouraging Iran to attack Israel by keeping the Israeli submarine in the Fatherland. Israel needs that sub for its own protection, just like the concentration camp victims needed weapons. The German crimes of the last century should not be forgotten or forgiven by the World for the next hundred thousand years. We know what those people are like and they are a danger to all of humanity. Germany has not even started to pay their monumental moral debt to the Jews.
October 26, 2011 at 12:02 PM
Angela Merkel ? She must cool down and fast . I do not want to be too harsh to this lady , but last time i checked the history books , i found that hitler , bormann , goebbels , eichmann and more legions of german nazis also would jeopardize the submarine transaction . Merkel seems to forgot the terrible cry of the Six Million and the fact that her very people was responsible for it. Some apartments in Jerusalem is a casus belli for the german Chancellor ? Think again , dear Merkel . With respect , Luis .