Berlin, May 14 (RHC)-- German Chancellor Angela Markel has defended the sale of modern weaponry by Germany to Israel, saying Berlin has an “obligation” to back the Tel Aviv regime. Merkel told students at a Berlin school on Tuesday that Germany “has a special obligation to support Israel,” adding that Germany sells weapons to Israel because “we believe that Israel must defend itself.”

The comments by Markel came just one day after Israeli officials announced they had secured a deal for buying four modern warships from a German shipbuilder. The deal is reportedly subsidized by Berlin, with the German government paying around 115 million euros of the 430-million-euro deal.

Merkel made the remarks before a meeting with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, who is in Berlin to attend the ceremonies marking the 50th anniversary of the establishment of relations between the Israeli regime and Germany. During the meeting with Rivlin, Merkel repeated her all-out support for Tel Aviv, saying: “We believe that Germany needs to provide special support to Israel,” according to the state-run broadcaster Deuche Welle.

Berlin has often funded Israel’s military adventures in the past by providing the regime with modern, expensive military equipment, including a deal in 2006 to undersell six Dolphin-class submarines.