Investigations by "Globes," found a number of comments by the leaders of the Green Party in recent years, showing that Merkel's potential coalition partner opposes supplying the submarines in principle. At the very least, the party demands a public commitment by Israel that the submarines will have no capability to launch nuclear missiles, a capability the submarines do possess according to foreign reports.
Following her victory in last month's elections, Merkel needs the support of the Green Party in order to form a coalition. Their views explain the behind-the-scenes Israeli pressure on the German government in the matter in recent weeks, and her decision to approve the deal while the current coalition is still in power. Israeli sources told "Globes" that they had been monitoring the Green Party's position on the issue.
According to media reports in Israel and Germany at the end of last week, the German government signed an MoU for a €1.5 billion deal between Israel and Thyssenkrupp, despite suspicions of bribery and other offenses by Michael Ganor, the representative of the German shipyards in Israel. Germany is expected to approve the deal and pay one third of the cost of the submarines, provided that there were no improprieties about the procurement decision itself.
The investigation by "Globes" found that "a majority of the senior leaders" of the Green Party previously expressed strong opposition to the sale to Israel of submarines capable of launching missiles with nuclear warheads.
Renate Kunast, a Green Party leader and member of the Bundestag (the German parliament), said in 2013, "The supply of submarines to Israel is contingent on an Israeli declaration that it will not use them to launch nuclear weapons." (end of excerpt
Click here for the full story, on the Globes website.
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