Weren't the engines supposed to be German-atleast of the earlier Merkava??Heard that Schroeder embargoed sales in 2002 after Sharon decided to go berserk against Arafat & that the IDF was working with the US on it.I don't think that engines will figure heavily in export considerations-India ,for eg, could opt for German,French or even Russian ones if it was to buy the Merkava.
It is curious, this would be a darn hot export item. Perhaps Israel is afraid they will all come back some day, barrel end first.