The report claimed that between 1961 and 1973, the government in Bonn transferred 140 million to 160 million German marks annually to Israel through a secret loan mechanism. In total, the funding is estimated at nearly 2 billion marks, equivalent to roughly €5 billion (over $5.7 billion) today. A later repayment agreement signed in 1989 reportedly turned the loan, in practice, into a grant.

If accurate, this would mean that a substantial part of Israel’s nuclear project was financed not by Israeli taxpayers or private donors, but by German public funds, it argued.
...
Ben-Gurion then began looking for what he reportedly described as “an umbrella for a rainy day,” seeing West Germany as the most suitable candidate: a rising European power, hostile to Nasser, and led by officials, especially then-Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, who believed Germany had a moral responsibility toward Israel after the Holocaust, the report said.

Secret ties begin in Bonn

A key moment came on July 3, 1957, during a secret meeting in Bonn between Shimon Peres, then-director general of Israel’s Defense Ministry, and West Germany's Defense Minister Franz Josef Strauss.

Ben-Gurion worried that open ties with Germany would trigger a crisis inside Israel, while Bonn feared that visible cooperation with Israel would damage its position in the Arab world and strengthen East Germany diplomatically.
...
Strauss responded positively, including to an Israeli request involving submarines. Although the submarines were not considered essential by the Israeli military, the request appears to have helped open the door to wider defense cooperation.

The submarines were ultimately purchased from Britain with German financing. West Germany also bought around $30 million worth of military equipment from Israel, helping support the development of Israel’s defense industry.