JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Questions over the purchase of German submarines that started with media reports of a potential conflict of interest involving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's lawyer have mounted in the last 10 days, spurring investigations in two countries.
At one level the issue is straightforward: Israel wanted to replace some of its ageing submarines and maintain its military edge against potential threats like Iran, so it ordered three new submarines, costing $1.5 billion (1.21 billion pounds), from Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, with delivery in about a decade.