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by Sharon Wrobel
Israeli Prime Minister Naftalia Bennett and GOC Navy Vice Admiral David Saar Salma. Photo: Amos Ben-Gershom / GPO
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett hailed the joint naval exercises with the US and regional allies, while warning about a recent increase in maritime threats against Israel during a visit of the military’s naval bases in the north of the country on Tuesday.
“We have seen an increase in maritime threats of late, in the navigation and commercial routes. I certainly see this as a challenge and it must be known that the target is the State of Israel, but not only,” Bennett said after the visit to bases in Haifa and Atlit.
“Therefore, I am especially pleased by the strategic cooperation that is being forged with the US — in joint naval exercises — and with other friends in the region,” he remarked
Last week, Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz visited the US Navy Fifth Fleet’s headquarters in Bahrain, part of an unannounced trip amid increased Gulf tensions and attacks on the United Arab Emirates. Gantz emphasized that cooperation was crucial to confront maritime and aerial threats. Israel joined a 60-nation, US-led Middle East naval exercise together with the UAE and Bahrain — and, for the first time, publicly alongside Saudi Arabia and Oman, two countries with which it has no official diplomatic relations.
“One sees in the movies the operational capabilities that I have seen today,” Bennett quipped.
Bennett and IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi joined GOC Navy Vice Admiral David Saar Salma at the Saar 6 class ship INS Magen, and was briefed on Israeli operations to defend the maritime economic zone, the prime minister’s office said.
The prime minister also commented on last month’s $3.4 billion submarines deal with Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems, which will build a new class of three advanced submarines for the Israeli Navy, the so-called Dakar series.
“I am pleased that my government has concluded and signed a submarine procurement agreement, a strategic acquisition that will serve the security of Israel for years to come,” Bennett said.
He also thanked the Commander of the Navy and the fighters he met at the naval bases.
“You have the nicest uniforms in the IDF and you have the critical task of safeguarding the security of the State of Israel,” the prime minister noted.
