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Israel Welcomes Fifth German Submarine

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JERUSALEM, Israel -- Israel welcomed a new German-built submarine as the Navy's fifth dolphin-class submarine this week.

At a ceremony in the Haifa port, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel's goal is superiority on all military fronts.

Netanyahu hinted that the submarine could give Israel second strike capability in the event of a nuclear attack against the Jewish State.

"Our submarine fleet will act as a deterrent to our enemies who want to destroy us," Netanyahu said. "They will not achieve their aim. They need to know that Israel is capable of striking with very great strength at all those who would harm it."

Netanyahu said the submarines in the Navy were "a defensive force in the stormy reality of the Middle East."

Analysts say the submarine fleet was established as a deterrent. Foreign reports say they're armed with nuclear missiles.

In an analysis in the Jerusalem Post, Yossi Melman said following the 1991 Gulf War in which Israel was attacked by Iraqi Scud missiles, it was discovered that Germany had given Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein "technology and materials for a suspected chemical weapons program."

"To cleanse its conscience, Germany agreed to finance the manufacturing of the first new Israeli submarines," Melman wrote.

According to foreign reports, Melman said, Israel upgraded the submarines to make them into "platforms to launch nuclear-tipped missiles."

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