A crisis between Israel and Germany over missile boats required to protect Israel's offshore gas fields has ended after Berlin agreed to slash €300 million (about $382 million) off the cost, officials on both sides said.
They are expected to initial an agreement for the boats within weeks, according to Haaretz.
The talks between Israel and Germany to purchase three fast missile boats to protect the gas rigs off Israel’s shore began a year ago. Haaretz reported that the deal was worth about €900 million.
Israel asked for a 30 percent reduction on the price, like it had received in previous deals on German submarines.
The German discount, tantamount to a grant of hundreds of millions of euros, was part of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s policy to bolster Israel’s security.
In the beginning of May, about two weeks after the talks between Israel and the Palestinians stalled, German’s national security adviser Christoph Heusgen told his Israeli counterpart Yossi Cohen that Israel would not receive the discount and would have to pay their full price.
Heusgen said that following the breakdown in the peace talks with the Palestinians and the harsh criticism in Germany of Israel’s construction in the settlements, the Bundestag would not approve a grant of hundreds of millions of euros to subsidize the boats.