Haifa Port (Israel) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has confirmed that Germany has delivered a fifth submarine to Israel.
Netanyahu, who made the confirmation Tuesday at a ceremony in Haifa Port, thanked Germany for its contributions in strengthening Israel’s sea power.
He described the TKMS submarine as one of the most advanced non-nuclear submarines in the world.
He said that the submarine arrived the northern Israeli port of Haifa four weeks after it departed from the ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) shipyard in the northern German port of Kiel.
Netanyahu said that the four Dolphin-class submarines that Israel had already obtained from Germany were crucial to its sea power in both the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
He said that the German government would pay one third of the cost of each vessel that would be equipped with advanced Israeli systems.
He said that Israel fleet of submarine would be used to deter Israeli enemies who he said, were striving to extinguish the Jewish state.
“They (enemies) must know that Israel is capable of hitting back hard against anyone who seeks to hurt us.
“Israel’s citizens need to know that it is a very strong state,” he said.
Chancellor Angela Merkel had repeatedly said that she is favourably disposed to the security of Israel in light of the Holocaust committed by the Nazis.
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She said each of the 68-metre Dolphin submarines have 10 torpedo tubes and costs about 645 million dollars.
“The latest, the fifth out of a total of six to be delivered to Israel, had earlier been named Rahav, Hebrew for “splendor,’’ she said. (dpa/NAN)
