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Israeli Air Force F-16 (AP file)
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners October 25, 2006 |
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The German Defense Ministry reported that two Israeli fighter jets fired shots and dropped flares near a German warship patrolling the Lebanese coast as part of the multinational peacekeeping force.
Defense Minister Amir Peretz stated Wednesday that that reports that IAF jets had fired shots at a German ship were untrue.
However, IDF sources admitted that on the previous morning there had been an incident in which a German helicopter took off from a warship off the Lebanese coast in an area where, according to prior agreements, it had to declare the flight to the IAF.
After the Germans failed to follow this procedure, the IAF scrambled its fighter jets towards the area but, according to the IDF, the problem was solved without confrontation and without any shots being fired.
Peretz spoke to his German counterpart Franz Josef Jung and vehemently denied reports that the IAF had shot on a German naval vessel off the Lebanese coast. The IDF Spokesperson's Office released a statement stating unequivocally that "contrary to reports, the IDF did not fire at a German warship."
"The defense minister declared that Israel had no intention whatsoever to carry out attacks against German forces," continued the statement, adding that Peretz had stressed to Jung the need to "increase cooperation both directly and in the framework of the UNIFIL peacekeeping force."
The German daily Der Tagesspiegel earlier Wednesday quoted a junior German Defense Ministry official as telling a parliamentary committee that two Israeli F-16 fighters flew low over the German ship and fired two shots.
A ministry spokesman in Berlin, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that two IAF F-16s fired two shots and released flares typically used as a defense measure against heat-seeking missiles.
The spokesman did not identify the vessel or say when the incident occurred. There were no reports of casualties.
Germany assumed command of a United Nations naval force off the coast of Lebanon 10 days ago and has sent a force of eight ships and 1,000 service personnel to join the international peace operation in the region.
The German naval task force, led by the frigate Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, is charged with a mission to prevent the smuggling of weapons as part of the UNIFIL peacekeeping force set up to secure a UN-brokered cease-fire that ended 34 days of fighting between Israel and Lebanon-based Hizbullah guerrillas in southern Lebanon on August 14.
In recent days the UN and France have warned about IAF overflights of Lebanon and have suggested that Israeli planes risked being shot down if they ventured over Lebanese airspace.
Peretz said earlier Wednesday that the IAF would continue to patrol Lebanese skies in an effort to gather information and prevent terror groups from smuggling weapons from Syria into Lebanon.
Peretz raised the issue on the Knesset plenum agenda, saying, "we see ourselves not just as free, but as having the right to continue carrying out these necessary flights, which are part of our challenge against the flow of arms from the area of the Syrian-Lebanese border."
The defense minister added that in light of Israel's desire to coordinate these efforts with Lebanon, it has reduced the scope of these flights to a minimum. He said the flights were being carried out with precision to avoid friction with United Nations troops and the Lebanese army, Haaretz reported. He said the flights presented no threat to the peace or security of the international forces deployed in Lebanon.
In response to threats by French forces to open fire on IAF overflights, Peretz said, "we will in no way accept these threats, and we've made that clear in conversations with all parties."
Israel Radio reported that the IDF was looking into the German report.
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