According to Robert Ball's "Mauser Military Rifles of the World," Israelis were buying 98k rifles from Czechoslovakia and Fabrique Nationale in Belgium. In 1949, the Israelis purchased from the Czechs the factory machinery line to build their own 98ks. By this time, semi-autos were becoming dominant and the Israelis wanted to stay current, so the factory line, from then on, was used to rebarrel the Czech and FN Mausers to 7.62x51.
"Wars are, of course, as a rule to be avoided; but they are far better than certain kinds of peace." - T.R.