Special to WorldTribune.com

LONDON — Germany plans to subsidize an Israeli procurement of naval corvettes.

The German government said it would contribute to the purchase of four corvettes for the Israel Navy. The government said the subsidy for Israel was approved by the parliament in Berlin.

“The contract could be completed by the end of the year,” German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said.

In a statement on Dec. 15, Seibert did not specify the size of the German subsidy. He said Israel reached an agreement to purchase the corvettes, manufactured by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, in November 2014.

The German newspaper Bild am Sonntag reported that the government decided to contribute 115 million euro for the Israeli purchase, estimated at 1 billion euro. The newspaper, citing government memorandums, said the Israel Navy would use the warships, identified as the Meko A-100, to secure its interests in the eastern Mediterranean.

Germany has become the leading supplier to the Israel Navy. In 2013, Germany helped finance the Israeli purchase of three additional Dolphin diesel-electric submarines, also produced by ThyssenKrupp.

  Germany emerges as leading supplier to Israel’s navy, WorldTribune.com