Israel's Cabinet on Sunday approved a state commission of inquiry to investigate allegations of corruption involving the purchase of submarines and other warships from Germany.

The country paid around $2 billion (€1.76 billion) to purchase naval vessels for the Israeli navy between 2009 and 2016 from Germany's Thyssenkrupp.

Close confidants of Benjamin Netanyahu were implicated in the submarine affair, which is also known as Case 3,000 in Israel. The former prime minister has been questioned by police about the deal before but not named a suspect.

Netanyahu, now leader of the opposition, was accused of pushing through the deals against the military's and the defense ministry's will.

Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak called it "the most serious corruption scandal in Israel's history."

Defense Minister Benny Gantz who pushed for the inquiry, said it signaled "that you cannot play with Israel's defense.''

Inquiry has broad powers

The state commission will look at the procurement process but not investigate defendants currently on trial.

In addition, the circumstances under which Israel agreed to the sale of German submarines to Egypt would be probed.

A state commission of inquiry has broad powers to call witnesses, compel testimony, and make recommendations for further action against both individuals and public sector bodies.

The investigation comes only days after Israel announced a new deal worth €3 billion ($3.4 billion) to buy 3 submarines from Thyssenkrupp.

The new deal had been on hold for years because of the corruption allegations surrounding the previous deal.

lo/dj (AP, AFP, dpa)