High Court Declines to Order State Inquiry into Submarine Affair

YERUSHALAYIM

The High Court ruled on Thursday against dredging up the so-called “Submarine Affair,” a corruption case involving the defense ministry’s multi-billion shekel purchase of naval vessels from German shipbuilder Thyssenkrupp, The Times of Israel reported.

A wide-ranging investigation has led to indictments on bribery and other charges of several close associates of former Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, though police have said he has not been a suspect in what has often been referred to as Case 3000, alongside other cases in which Netanyahu is currently on trial.

The justices acknowledged “improper and worrying conduct” that deserves further investigation, but rejected petitions to order a government inquiry.

Responding to Thursday’s High Court decision, Defense Minister Benny Gantz said its “criticism of the shortcomings in the process of purchasing the submarines and vessels, and the situation in which the IDF and the defense establishment were pushed aside in the decision-making process, require an in-depth examination of the issue.”

He said he will “continue to lead, together with my government partners, the establishment of a state commission of inquiry soon.”

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