The State Commission of Inquiry into the submarines and vessels affair sent a letter on Monday to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasizing that he may be affected negatively by its conclusions, and that he must state their intentions to appoint counsel within a month.
The same warning was also issued to former Mossad director Yossi Cohen, former Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, former Navy commander Ram Rutberg and former National Security Council employee Avner Simhoni.
The Submarine Affair involves two arms deals between Israel and the German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. In the first deal, Israel purchased three submarines worth 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion).
In the second, Israel bought missile ships, valued at 430 million euros (about $481 million), for the purpose of protecting Israel's offshore natural gas platforms. […] According to indictments that have already been filed in the case, senior military officers, government officials and associates of Netanyahu demanded and received bribes to promote the deals.
The central claim against Netanyahu, who has not been indicted in the case, is that he is suspected of initiating the purchase of additional submarines for the navy despite objections from the defense establishment.
Commission members – Supreme Court president emeritus Asher Grunis, Judge Zvi Zylbertal, former Governor of the Bank of Israel Karnit Flug, Gideon Frank, and Prof. Jacob Bortman – emphasized that the warning is "Based on the situational analysis as it appears before the commission at this time, based on the material before it," and "The findings and conclusions may change after the commission completes the investigation."
Regarding Netanyahu, the commission writes, "The conduct of Mr. Netanyahu, in the subjects investigated by the commission, caused serious and systematic disruption of work processes and force building, and harmed the decision-making mechanisms in a series of sensitive issues, thereby jeopardizing the national security and harming the foreign relations and economic interests of the State of Israel."
The warning to Netanyahu states that he, "is liable to be affected if the findings indicate that he made decisions with significant consequences to national security and in the matter of the IDF force building without an orderly decision-making process; reached agreements with Germany on a series of diplomatic, defense, and economic issues without documentation and bypassing the government; turned the National Security Council into the execution body of the prime minister, operating in parallel with and contradiction to the Ministry of Defense."
The commission adds that it examined whether Netanyahu "established parallel operating and contradicting channels, thereby jeopardizing the national security and harming the foreign relations of the State of Israel."
Regarding Yossi Cohen, the commission states, "His conduct in the issues under investigation resulted in the serious disruption of work processes and force building and harmed the decision-making process in a series of sensitive issues, thereby jeopardizing the national security and harming the foreign relations and economic interests of the State of Israel."
Regarding Ram Rutberg, the commission writes, "His conduct in the issues under investigation reflect a deviation from the norms of conduct required by an IDF commander, resulting in harm to work processes and force building, thereby creating the possible jeopardizing the security of the country and harming the foreign relations and economic interests of the State of Israel."
Regarding Avner Simhoni, the commission wrote, "His conduct in the issues under investigation contravened proper administrative arrangements and accepted work arrangements in the civil service. His conduct harmed decision-making processes in key issues of national security, foreign relations and economic interests of the State of Israel."
The notice to former IDF chief-of-staff Lt.-Gen. and Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon details the issues where he may be affected, but the commission did not release a critical paragraph about his conduct, and was satisfied with a general description of the subjects investigated.
A statement issued on behalf of the prime minister said, "Not only does the acquisition of the submarines not harm national security, it ensures its existence. History will prove that on this issue as well, Prime Minister Netanyahu was right and took the right decisions for the security of Israel."