Israeli Navy ship
Photo: Ahiya Raved
A premature celebration
Prime Minister Netanyahu declared victory early, as Jerusalem and Berlin yet to agree details of Israeli acquisition of four new German warships.
Officials in the Israeli Navy were surprised to hear their fleet would receive four new warships on Thursday – they had never been told of any new acquisitions. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the additions, oddly enough, at an Israeli Air Force graduation ceremony.
Netanyahu said that under his leadership the navy had been strengthened and that a deal was signed recently for the purchase of four warships from Germany. "We have added an important layer to our defensive force."
The new vessels will be tasked with protecting Israeli offshore gas platforms in the Mediterranean Sea. "We purchased four new Sa'ar-class ships from Germany in addition to the submarines already under construction for the navy," he said.
German-built INS Tanin (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
But the joyous announcement may have premature. As Netanyahu said, three days ago an agreement was signed between the Israeli and Germany defense establishments. But the accord did not agree to the purchase of the ships – it was only a memorandum of understanding.
Berlin has committed to provide Israel with a 115 million euro grant – if the acquisition order is finalized.
The signing of the memorandum is an important step in the process, but the negotiations between the two countries are far from over. Israel has budgeted some 300 million euros for the deal. The German grant was intended to assist Jerusalem in purchasing four advanced warships with the basic equipment needed for operation.
Israeli Navy receives German-built sub (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
Israel, however, insists that – for the same sum – Germany will include weapons and electronics systems developed in Israel. The move would provide work for several key factories in the Israeli defense industry. The installation of the unique systems developed in Israel for the navy is a key element in the vessels' ability to complete a wide variety of missions.
Thus, despite the prime minister's declaration, the deal has yet to be concluded. The Germans are not eager to discount the base price of the warships in order to include the Israeli systems and negotiations continue, with each side asking the other to concede.
The message is clear: As of now there have been no agreements, no signatures, and no ships.
Israel froze an international tender for the purchase of the warships several months ago after receiving an unwritten commitment from Berlin to provide a grant for a quarter of the cost.
Defense officials decided to try to reach a signed agreement with Berlin by next month; if there is no progress by the end of January, the international tender would be thawed and the German offer would face competition from other shipyards.
In the end, we are all hoping that an agreement is signed and that by the elections in March the prime minister – and all of us – will have a reason to be proud.
Our reporter Itamar Eichner added: The Prime Minister's Office responded in a statement that "Israel intends to complete the acquisition of the four ships and thus representatives of the Israeli and German governments signed a memorandum of understanding this week in Berlin. Israel will acquire the vessels from the shipyards constructing the navy's Dolphin-class submarines."
