Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Prime Minister Yair Lapid plan to ask the government to vote on the formation of a state commission of inquiry into the so-called "submarine affair," which centers on a possible conflict of interests surrounding the €2 billion procurement of submarines and naval vessels from German conglomerate ThyssenKrupp in 2016.
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The vote is slated to take place on Sunday afternoon.
Sources familiar with the issue said that Prime Minister Naftali Bennett seeks to push the decision on the investigation through as means to signaling to the Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu that even if he strikes a plea bargain in his ongoing corruption case, he will not be able to simply resuming his political dealings as he will still have to answer for the submarine affair.
The alleged graft case is seen as one of the gravest scandals in the defense establishment's history. While several of Netanyahu's closest associates have been implicated in the case, Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit has stated several times that the former prime minister is not a suspect.
However, a report on Channel 12 News said that Bennett would actually prefer to postpone the vote, as he seeks to finalize a deal with Germany on the procurement of more Dolphin-type submarines before such a commission or inquiry is set up.
Gantz, who upon taking office stated that he plans to investigate the matter in full, said Friday that "the formation of a commission of inquiry is a necessary step to safeguard Israel's security."
Lapid said Friday that the submarine affair "is the most serious case of defense corruption in Israeli history, and we must leave no stone unturned to reach the truth."
The Likud slammed Lapid and Gantz's bid, saying, "This government is causing this country to sink so it's trying to divert the public's attention from it by pursuing another futile investigation. The public sees the failures. This government will soon be replaced."
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