An Israeli fact-finding commission has revealed that the Israeli Government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was guilty of "systemic failings" regarding the acquisition of new naval vessels.
The five-member state commission of inquiry led by former Israeli Supreme Court President Asher Grunis said that the government had not established clear policies and strategy and had ignored security requirements in deciding on the purchase of vessels for the Israeli Navy.
The commission remarked that the manner in which defence materiel acquisition projects were conducted had, "endangered state security."
The commission was formed in 2022 to assess the naval vessel acquisitions that were made during Netanyahu's second stint as Prime Minister, which lasted from 2009 to 2021.
It also examined Netanyahu's apparent approval of the sale of naval vessels to Egypt by German defence shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (now TKMS). The latter had also constructed surface ships and submarines for the Israeli Navy.
The commission said that the sale of weapon systems by Israel's allies to third-party nations is "a sensitive strategic issue," and that the handling of the sales was conducted chaotically, as Netanyahu had reportedly bypassed senior government and military officials to fast-track the transactions.
The commission's findings were published on Sunday, January 25.
The document did not explicitly mention which personalities were responsible for the identified failings, though the commission's members had issued written warnings in 2024 to individuals whose interests may be negatively impacted by the findings of the then-ongoing probe.
The individuals to whom the warnings were addressed include Netanyahu, former Israeli Navy Chief Vice Admiral Ram Rothberg, former Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon, and former Director Yossi Cohen of civilian intelligence agency Mossad.