WarSclerotic

Defense Minister Moshe (Bogie) Ya’alon met with German counterpart Ursula von der Leyen in Berlin on Thursday and discussed the possible purchase of surface ships to defend natural gas fields in Israeli waters.

The Israeli Navy has recently begun evaluating naval vessels for defending the valuable natural gas installations off the Israeli coast. The navy intends to purchase four ships, though it has yet to be determined from which country it will purchase them.

“The situation in the Middle East is very complex and unstable, and we expect there will be chronic instability in the coming years,” Ya’alon told von der Leyen. “We are great supporters of democracy and I wish there were more democratic states around us. We have experience in the Palestinian arena, in Gaza, where Hamas won the elections but there is no democracy. This was also the case in Egypt with the Muslim Brotherhood.”

Ya’alon also spoke about Iran, warning that the “messianic-apocalyptic” regime’s nuclear program must be stopped “one or way another … otherwise it will become a nightmare for the Middle East and the entire world.”

Ya’alon thanked Germany for its support and said he “appreciated very much the cooperation between Germany and Israel.”

“Knowing very well the relationship, the good cooperation between our two countries, looking back to the dark past but looking to the bright future, these two democracies sharing the same values, I believe sharing the same interests, challenged by common threats like terror, rockets, missiles, weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East and beyond,” Ya’alon said.

Der Leyen, Germany’s first female defense minister, said, “This is the first foreign guest I have the pleasure of welcoming here in my function as defense minister. It shows the special relationship between Germany and Israel.”