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"Israel is discussing the purchase of a sixth Dolphin submarine from Germany, fueling concerns that the Jewish state is gearing up for a protracted conflict with Iran, officials say.
The Israeli navy has three Dolphins operational, and all are purported to be capable of launching nuclear-armed Harpoon cruise missiles.
Two other Dolphins are being built for Israel at the Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft shipyard in Kiel and are due for delivery in 2012.
The new purchase is high on the agenda of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who arrived in Berlin Monday with a team of senior ministers for a historic joint cabinet meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak is expected to ask the Germans to underwrite the $700 million cost of a new Dolphin, a proposal likely to meet considerable German resistance.
Berlin, which considers itself morally obliged to help Israel because of the Holocaust, gave the Israelis major discounts when they purchased the other Dolphins. But there's been a global economic meltdown since then."
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