Submarine Commission to Question Netanyahu, Chief of Staff in Closed Hearings

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Israel's state commission of inquiry into the submarine affair will begin hearing testimony on November 1st, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scheduled to testify on December 7th. The investigation concerns decisions made regarding the procurement of submarines and naval vessels from Thyssenkrupp, involving billions of shekels and potential conflicts of interest. Several high-ranking officials, including former Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon and former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, received warning letters. A parallel criminal investigation led to indictments for bribery, with confessions from a key witness being admissible.

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Prime Minister Netanyahu to testify before the submarine inquiry commission on December 7.
The commission's witness testimony phase begins November 1st in closed-door hearings.
Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir is among the witnesses summoned, though not under suspicion.
The inquiry investigates multi-billion shekel deals for submarines and naval vessels from Thyssenkrupp.
Several senior officials, including former Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, received warning letters.
A parallel criminal probe resulted in bribery indictments, with key witness confessions admissible.

Israel's state commission of inquiry into the submarine and naval vessel affair announced that the witness testimony phase, concerning personal warnings, will commence on November 1st. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is slated to testify on December 7th. The list of witnesses also includes Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, who is not suspected in the affair, and former President Reuven Rivlin. The commission is investigating personal warning letters sent to senior officials involved in the decision-making processes for acquiring naval vessels.

Netanyahu, along with other current and former senior officials, has been summoned to testify in closed-door sessions. Among those called are Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir and former President Reuven Rivlin. Zamir's summons does not indicate suspicion against him, and he is not among the five individuals who received warning letters from the commission. These letters were previously sent to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defense Minister and Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon, former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, former Navy commander Ram Rotberg, and Avner Shimoni.

The commission is examining decisions made regarding the procurement of submarines and warships from the German company Thyssenkrupp, involving billions of shekels. The investigation focuses on potential conflicts of interest, the involvement of intermediaries, and non-professional considerations in advancing the defense acquisitions. Deals under scrutiny include the purchase of three submarines for approximately 1.5 billion euros and the acquisition of Sa'ar 6 corvettes for about 430 million euros.

In parallel to the commission's work, a criminal investigation into corruption suspicions related to these deals took place. Miki Ganor, Thyssenkrupp's former representative in Israel, initially signed a state witness agreement but later retracted it, claiming his confessions were coerced. Indictments were filed in May 2021 against several individuals, including Ganor, who was charged with bribery. His request to disqualify his confessions was ultimately denied, allowing them to be used as evidence.

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