Netanyahu’s Lawyer Confident PM Will be Cleared in Submarine Probe

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attend a pre
Carsten Koall/Getty

The Times of Israel reports: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s personal attorney said Wednesday he will be cleared of any wrongdoing by a new police probe into suspected conflict of interest and corruption over a deal to buy German-made submarines for the Israeli navy.

Earlier Wednesday, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit ordered the police to look into allegations David Shimron used his close relationship with Netanyahu to push Israel to purchase several submarines from German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp, award the company a contract for naval vessels to defend Israel’s gas fields and allow it to build a shipyard in Israel. Shimron was a representative of the company in Israel.

“I welcome the attorney general’s decision to open an inquiry,” Shimron said in a statement. “I’m certain that after the facts are examined by objective professionals, it will become clear once and for all that there was no wrongdoing whatsoever in my actions, and everything was conducted in accordance with the law and conflict-of-interest arrangements.”

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.