Germany to advance drones lease with Israel

The German Defence Ministry is expected to conclude a deal to lease unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) worth €1 billion made by Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd after the deal was frozen last summer.

Israel’s TheMarker business newspaper said the deal may finally advance in the coming weeks.

In June, last year, the German Bundestag voted against the deal out of moral reservations over Germany’s possession of drones used or killings and targeting innocent civilians.

At the time, the Social Democratic Party; one of Chancellor Angela Merkel coalition partners led the opposition, but now it seems the party has withdrawn its opposition to the deal.

The deal has now to be presented to the German parliament for a vote.