Israel launches state probe into German submarine purchase

JERUSALEM — Israel’s Cabinet approved Sunday the launch of a state investigation into an affair involving the purchase of submarines and other military ships from Germany, a case that has embroiled close confidants of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The graft scandal surrounds a possible conflict of interest and alleged bribery involving a $2 billion purchase of naval vessels from Germany’s ThyssenKrupp that implicated some of Netanyahu’s closest associates. The former prime minister was questioned, but not named as a suspect, in the scandal, referred to as Case 3000 .

The Cabinet authorized establishing a state investigation into the case by vote. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett abstained.

“The processes for defense acquisitions in this government are clean of outside considerations,” Bennett said at the start of Sunday’s Cabinet meeting. “Our sole consideration is the security of Israel.”

The state commission of inquiry has sweeping authority to investigate and summon witnesses, and its recommendations typically guide government policy.

Nitzan Horowitz, Israel’s health minister and a Cabinet member, said the government investigation “is a critical step in the fight against corruption and is essential for the defense establishment.”

The approval of a state investigation came more than a year after Defense Minister Benny Gantz authorized a probe into Netanyahu’s role in the affair.

Gantz said on Twitter after the vote that launching the investigation is of “the highest security need, and a clear message that you cannot play with Israel’s defense.”

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak on Sunday called the matter “the most serious corruption scandal in Israel’s history.” Anti-Netanyahu protesters who demonstrated outside his Jerusalem residence until his ouster from office last year had called for an investigation into his role in the submarine scandal.

Netanyahu is currently on trial in three other corruption cases and has denied any wrongdoing. He served as prime minister from 2009 until last year, when he was unseated by a coalition of his opponents following a fourth parliamentary election in two years. He now serves as leader of the opposition in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.

Last week, Israel signed an agreement with Germany to purchase three submarines from ThyssenKrupp for €3 billion (U.S. $3.4 billion) to replace older ships retiring at the end of the decade. The Israeli Defense Ministry said they were not part of the state investigation.

Netanyahu’s Likud party responded to the announcement, saying the investigation should look into “how all those who for years opposed buying three more submarines suddenly approved the purchase,” and dismissed the allegations of wrongdoing as “idle political claims.”

耶路撒冷——以色列内阁周日批准对一起涉及从德国购买潜艇和其他军舰的事件展开国家调查，该案牵涉到前总理本杰明·内塔尼亚胡的亲信。

这起贪腐丑闻围绕着一起可能存在的利益冲突和涉嫌贿赂案展开，该案涉及向德国蒂森克虏伯公司购买价值20亿美元的海军舰艇，牵涉到内塔尼亚胡的一些最亲密的助手。这位前总理曾接受讯问，但并未被列为嫌疑人。这起丑闻被称为“3000号案件”。

内阁投票决定授权对此案展开国家调查。首相纳夫塔利·贝内特投了弃权票。

“本届政府的国防采购流程不受任何外部因素影响，”贝内特在周日内阁会议开始时说。“我们唯一考虑的是以色列的安全。”

州调查委员会拥有广泛的权力进行调查和传唤证人，其建议通常会指导政府政策。

以色列卫生部长兼内阁成员尼赞·霍罗维茨表示，政府的调查“是打击腐败的关键一步，对国防机构至关重要”。

在国防部长本尼·甘茨授权调查内塔尼亚胡在该事件中的角色一年多之后，国家调查终于获得批准。

投票结束后，甘茨在推特上表示，启动调查是“最高安全需要，也是向世人发出的一个明确信号，那就是你不能拿以色列的国防开玩笑”。

以色列前总理埃胡德·巴拉克周日称此事为“以色列历史上最严重的腐败丑闻”。去年，反内塔尼亚胡抗议者一直在他位于耶路撒冷的住所外示威，直到他被罢免。这些抗议者呼吁调查他在潜艇丑闻中的角色。

内塔尼亚胡目前正因另外三起腐败案件接受审判，但他否认有任何不当行为。他于2009年至去年担任以色列总理，在两年内第四次议会选举后被反对派联盟击败。他现在是以色列议会（克内塞特）的反对党领袖。

上周，以色列与德国签署协议，将从蒂森克虏伯公司购买三艘潜艇，总价30亿欧元（约合34亿美元），用于替换本十年末退役的老旧潜艇。以色列国防部表示，这些潜艇与此次国家调查无关。

内塔尼亚胡的利库德集团对这一声明作出回应，称调查应该查明“多年来一直反对购买三艘潜艇的人是如何突然批准购买的”，并驳斥了有关不当行为的指控，称其为“无稽的政治主张”。