Germany to sell Israel another nuclear submarine

Germany starts talks with Israel over the sale of a new submarine, capable of firing nuclear missiles, despite having received no payment for previous deliveries.

Israeli and German officials have reached an “advanced” stage in their negotiations about the new Dolphin class attack submarine, a “senior” Israeli source told Israel’s Maariv daily.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are expected to agree on the deal’s details on January 18, the source said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was supposed to finalize the deal with the German Chancellor last November, but that meeting never took place as Netanyahu fell ill.

The German-made Dolphin ballistic missile submarines are capable of firing cruise missiles.

The Israeli marine already has three Dolphin submarines that it received from Germany three years ago.

The new submarines have been built at a cost of one-point-three billion euros, with Germany covering one-third of the bill.

Tel Aviv has reportedly not paid for the previous deliveries despite German demands, but Berlin wants Israel to pay up this time.