Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been under increasing pressure amid his decision to tie up an expensive arms deal with German defense enterprises without consent of the Israeli Ministry of Defense, German newspaper Handelsblatt reported.
In particular, Netanyahu is being accused of pushing the expensive submarine deal despite the opposition of the Israeli Ministry of Defense.
"I was strictly against the purchase of three more submarines," Defense Minister Mosche Jaalon wrote on his Facebook page.
According to Jaalon, there is a sufficient number of submarines in Israel and further rearmament has not been necessary. The minister demanded an inquiry into the case and the establishment of special investigation commission on the issue.
Meanwhile, Israel has already received five German submarines, "partly financed by German taxpayers," the newspaper wrote.
The purchase price for Dolphin-class submarines is about 600 million euro.
